A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot Saturday night at Millennium Park and two men were later wounded in a separate attack after hundreds flooded the Loop, prompting Chicago police officers to close off streets and make mass arrests.
It was the latest in a string of chaotic springtime nights in the city as violent crime rises along with the temperatures.
Police said at least 30 people were taken into custody and multiple guns were recovered in connection to the “disturbances involving large crowds in the downtown area,” which came just three days after an unsanctioned North Avenue Beach “takeover” gave way to a similarly chaotic scene on the Near North Side that didn’t grow violent.
The situation on Saturday escalated about 7:30 p.m., when Seandell Holliday was shot in the chest in the 200 block of East Randolph Street near the iconic “Cloud Gate” statue more commonly known as “The Bean,” according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The 16-year-old was rushed to Lurie Children’s Hospital and pronounced dead.
Police said two people were taken into custody for questioning, and two weapons were recovered.
The shooting followed another attack on Tuesday evening, when a 19-year-old man was wounded by gunfire near “The Bean” as he rode in a car in the first block of North Michigan Avenue, police reported at the time.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot called Saturday’s fatal shooting near the tourist attraction in the heart of the Loop “utterly unacceptable.” She promised to take additional steps to address similar “lawlessness” as she offered condolences to the slain boy’s moth