A 14-year-old boy was killed and eight other teenagers were wounded in separate shootings late on a bustling Friday night that saw thousands of people gather in the Loop to kick off the holiday season. <\/p>\n
The chaos that unfolded during the so-called teen takeover \u201cset us back as a city, and it evokes fear,\u201d Mayor Brandon Johnson said of the attacks that happened steps away from many of the city\u2019s most iconic tourist destinations, shortly after the annual tree-lighting<\/a> ceremony in Millennium Park. <\/p>\n A mass shooting happened just outside the Chicago Theatre, while the homicide occurred near Federal Plaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThe holiday season is a time when we come together as a city. It\u2019s when we spend time with our family and our loved ones,\u201d Johnson said as detectives investigated Saturday morning. \u201cThis is the opposite type of behavior that anybody wants to see. We have too many guns and too many young people who don\u2019t value their own lives or the lives of others.\u201d<\/p>\n Seven teens were wounded in the first of two shootings, which happened near the theater about 9:50 p.m. in the 100 block of North State. Officers on patrol \u201cobserved a large group on the sidewalk\u201d and heard gunshots that sent people scattering, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.<\/p>\n Three teenage boys ranging in age from 14 to 17 suffered graze wounds. Two more, ages 14 and 16, suffered leg wounds, and a 14-year-old girl was shot in the hip. Chicago Fire Department paramedics took them to hospitals where they were later listed in good condition, police said. <\/p>\n The seventh victim, a 13-year-old girl, was shot in the leg and taken to Lurie Children\u2019s Hospital in fair condition.<\/p>\n Chicago police investigate the scene where multiple people were shot outside the Chicago Theatre in the Loop, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Less than an hour later and five blocks away, officers found two people shot in the 100 block of South Dearborn, about 10:40 p.m. <\/p>\n One of them, a 14-year-old boy, died with multiple gunshot wounds at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to police, who initially reported he was older. His name was not released.<\/p>\n The other victim, 18, was taken to Northwestern in serious condition with a leg wound, and he was \u201cunable to provide further details of the incident,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n Five weapons were recovered and 18 arrests were made throughout the downtown disorder, Johnson said, but those in custody weren\u2019t considered suspects in the shootings. <\/p>\n ABC7 staffers reported hearing gunfire outside their State Street studios. Videos posted to social media showed officers tending to people on the ground near State and Lake streets, and outside the Walgreens on Randolph.<\/p>\n Police evidence technicians later searched for shell casings under the bright lights of the Chicago Theatre marquee. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we have a setback like this, it just reminds us of the long road that we have to build a city that we all want to live in,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe will continue to pray for the victims and their families. We will continue to pray for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n Chicago police investigate the scene where multiple people were shot outside the Chicago Theatre in the Loop, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said in a social media post that hundreds of juveniles had been \u201crioting\u201d in the Loop. He also said officers were \u201cattacked and injured with mace and stun guns.\u201d No officers were hospitalized, officials said.<\/p>\n Word of a \u201cteen takeover\u201d had circulated on social media earlier in the week ahead of the tree-lighting that drew an estimated 20,000 attendees. Officials at Chicago Public Schools had sent messages to families urging teens to stay away from the spectacle without supervision. <\/p>\n The city deployed 700 additional police officers downtown for the festivities along with community violence intervention workers, \u201cbut clearly what we put in place did not do enough to prevent what we were concerned about from actually manifesting,\u201d Johnson said. <\/p>\n Additional police resources were being deployed for Saturday evening\u2019s Mag Mile Lights Festival. <\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to make the necessary adjustments as we move along to ensure that these large, peaceful, citywide events can take place without the terror and the harm of gun violence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Chicago officials have wrangled for years over the problems that have often come with large groups of unsupervised young people gathering in the Loop. Some, including Hopkins, have pushed to authorize police to declare curfews with 30 minutes\u2019 notice in order to tamp down chaotic scenes. <\/p>\n Allies of Johnson, who vetoed a snap curfew measure that passed the City Council over the summer<\/a>, instead have pushed to create more jobs and recreational opportunities as outlets for young people on the South and West sides of the city, where resources are scant. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the first person to recognize that we have more work to do in this city to provide safe spaces for our young people. But these types of violent gatherings can never be an alternative, nor can they be normalized,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe need to deter them from attending large, unsanctioned after-gatherings, where weapons are likely to be present. There\u2019s always more we as adults can do to make sure that we know where our kids are and what they are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/d18ebe9\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x1996+0+0\/resize\/840x559!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F70%2F9f%2Fc091d91c4ccf8ba8ac37cd4220a9%2Floopshooting-112225-12.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n\u2018Teen takeover\u2019 prep wasn\u2019t enough<\/h3>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/f819f66\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x2000+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Faa%2F3a%2F5f6c2c8841e48f00a416d57d20a1%2Floopshooting-112225-26.jpg\")
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