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Voices throughout Chicago and the nation expressed alarm on Saturday after two shootings within the Loop following the town’s annual Christmas tree lighting left a 14-year-old boy lifeless and eight different folks, practically all juveniles, wounded.
Officers mentioned officers arrested 18 folks and recovered 5 firearms throughout what authorities described as widespread mayhem within the downtown space after the ceremony.
Video circulating on social media confirmed a bunch of younger folks beating and robbing an obvious teenage sufferer within the Loop throughout Friday’s mayhem. Because the boy curled up on the bottom, somebody pulled off his winter coat. Moments later, as he struggled to his ft, one other particular person cold-cocked him within the face, sending him staggering down the sidewalk.
The violence rapidly drew nationwide consideration, with President Donald Trump weighed in on his Fact Social account, writing that “Governor Pritzker and the Low IQ Mayor of Chicago are refusing Federal Authorities assist for a state of affairs that might be rapidly remedied.” He claimed that “the persons are chanting, BRING IN TRUMP!!!”
Again in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson struck a notably totally different tone from the one he adopted in 2023, when he pushed again on criticism after so-called teen traits left three youngsters shot and 15 folks arrested within the days after his election victory. At the moment, Johnson claimed involved residents have been “demonizing” younger individuals who “generally make foolish selections.”
On Saturday, Johnson sounded nearer to condemning the conduct he as soon as appeared to excuse.
“We’ve got too many weapons and too many younger individuals who don’t worth their lives or the lives of others,” the mayor mentioned.
My assertion on the capturing final night time. pic.twitter.com/y00MMvVQCQ
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) November 22, 2025
Earlier this yr, Johnson vetoed an ordinance that will have granted CPD Supt. Larry Snelling authority to impose fast snap curfews to assist defuse and disperse massive teen gatherings earlier than they turned violent. On Saturday, he urged mother and father and guardians to accompany minors at massive occasions.
“Some of these violent gatherings can by no means be another, nor can they be normalized,” Johnson mentioned, as soon as once more voicing ideas that appear to contradict his earlier “demonization” rhetoric.
The response from retired Riverdale Police Chief Tom Weitzel was scathing as he painted photographs of “escalating violence” and “full lawlessness” in Chicago.
Weitzel repeated earlier public statements advising households and guests to steer clear of the town “till management takes decisive motion.”
He pointed to the hearth assault aboard a Blue Line practice earlier this week, Friday’s shootings within the Loop, and what he described as a “juvenile riot” that unfolded after the town’s annual tree lighting ceremony.
“These incidents shock the conscience,” he mentioned. “Regardless of claims that crime is being decreased, violent crime is spiraling uncontrolled. The mayor and his group are deflecting as an alternative of defending. Chicago isn’t an excellent place to deliver your loved ones, and I counsel towards visiting for leisure, dinner, exhibits, or in a single day stays till management takes violent crime severely.”
Weitzel mentioned he believes solely a downturn in tourism and leisure spending will drive management to make important modifications.
“Chicago deserves higher. Its residents, its officers, and its guests can’t afford management that pretends every thing is ok whereas lives are misplaced,” he mentioned.
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