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Washington Park picnic shooting
A mass shooting erupted during a gathering in Chicago’s Washington Park on the 5400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue late Saturday night, with police saying officers were trying to disperse the crowd when unknown people began firing into it around 11:37 p.m.
“around 11:37 p.m., police said”
CWB Chicago said the incident “now ranks as the second-largest mass shooting in Chicago since at least 2013,” after police increased the number of victims to 15 and reported that one of those victims had died.
NBC 5 Chicago reported that a reunion celebration at Washington Park left “1 killed and 14 injured,” and said a 35-year-old man died after being shot multiple times while 14 others, ranging in age from 21 to 47, were also shot.
Police said the shooting was tied to a planned or ongoing gathering that witnesses described as a reunion party for the Robert Taylor homes, and ABC7 Chicago said the shooting happened just after 11:30 p.m. in Washington Park where several gatherings were taking place.
CWB Chicago said Chicago police officers were monitoring the planned gathering when an officer reported “nonstop” gunfire over their radios as people ran for cover.
Witnesses, officials, and uncertainty
Witness Terry Jones told CBS News Chicago that he initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks, saying, “I was out here at the picnic, and I heard shooting, and I thought it was fireworks, and I saw everybody running, and I saw everybody falling and dropping.”
ABC7 Chicago quoted 20th Ward Ald. Jeanette Taylor describing the chaos and said she told reporters, “Somebody across the street from the park started shooting in the park.”
NBC 5 Chicago said no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon, while WGN-TV reported that police have not yet said whether anybody is in custody and that area detectives are investigating.
CWB Chicago said police initially reported that a 35-year-old man had died and nine other people were injured, before later increasing the victim count to 14 after identifying four additional women who went to the University of Chicago Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The reporting also included a dispatch description of the scene, with CWB Chicago quoting an officer’s radio account of “nonstop” gunfire and WGN-TV describing a witness saying, “I heard shooting. I thought it was fireworks, but it was not fireworks.”
Reward, aftermath, and stakes
In the aftermath, Cook County Crime Stoppers announced a reward for information leading to an arrest, with CWB Chicago saying it offered a $10,000 reward and quoting Paul Rutherford calling the shooting “This senseless act of violence has devastated another Chicago community.”
“Cook County Crime Stoppers has announced a $10,000 reward”
WGN-TV also said Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 cash reward, and it reported that the 35-year-old victim’s mother, Shontiva Martin, said her daughter’s boyfriend was the man who lost his life and that “He just wanted to live life.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed the shooting, and NBC 5 Chicago quoted him saying, “The challenge is not just people coming together,” while also describing “some incredibly bad actors that still exist in our city.”
ABC7 Chicago said detectives canvassed the area Sunday morning while city crews cleaned up the park after people fled the scene, and it quoted a dispatcher saying, “We've got a lot of reports, non-stop. Cottage and 53rd... We have people running.”
CWB Chicago said the incident left 30 people shot across Chicago on Saturday, making it the highest single-day total since 47 people were shot on July 5, 2024, and it added that the city’s 454th mass shooting since 2014 occurred as police continued investigating.