Teen charged following mass shooting outside Chicago Theater after tree-lighting ceremony
A teenage boy was arrested and charged with multiple felonies for a shooting that injured seven other teens during a "teen takeover" in November as thousands of people gathered in the Loop to kick off the holiday season.
The unidentified boy, 17, is charged as an adult with seven counts of attempted murder, seven counts of aggravated battery, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, according to a police report. He is scheduled to appear before a judge Thursday.
On November 21 last year, seven teens were wounded in a shooting outside the Chicago Theatre in the 100 block of North State. A large group of teens gathered in the area shortly after the annual Christmas tree lighting in Millennium Park during a so-called "teen takeover," or a large-scale gathering of young people at popular spots in the city often advertised on social media.
The victims, boys and girls ranging in age from 13 to 17, mostly suffered leg wounds and were taken to hospitals in good or fair condition, authorities said.
The same night, two other teens were found shot about 10:40 p.m. near Federal Plaza. One, Armani Floyd, 14, died. Before the shooting, two groups were fighting and the boy left the crowd and began firing, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The city has grappled with how to respond to teen gatherings for the past several years, with some city officials backing a measure to implement a snap curfew in which minors need to leave a scene within 30 minutes. Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed a snap curfew measure last year, saying teens need other social outlets, like jobs and recreational activities, especially on the South and West Sides.
“I’m 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,” Johnson said shortly after the shootings. “There’s always more we as adults can do to make sure that we know where our kids are and what they are doing.”