Chicago Mayor Johnson: Shootings show 'how far we still have to go'

Despite a mass shooting just north of downtown Chicago Wednesday night, Mayor Brandon Johnson says he wants people to enjoy the city this holiday weekend.

The shooting outside Artis Restaurant and Lounge on Chicago Avenue left four people dead and 18 others wounded. Police said a vehicle pulled up near a crowd of people on the sidewalk, and gunfire erupted from the vehicle. The incident happened as a crowd was leaving a release party for a local music artist.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said detectives are working hard to solve the crime.

“We as a Chicago Police Department want to make sure that we bring justice to these families, but we also want to make sure that we take individuals who are this violent and this careless off the streets,” Snelling said.

Snelling said he could not confirm or deny that the incident might have involved retaliation after a shooting on the South Side days before.

“We are continuing to gather facts about this. I don’t ever want to stand up here and give you information that we can’t prove concretely. Right now, everybody is working across the districts, across bureaus, and we’re going to make sure we get to the bottom of this,” Snelling said.

Snelling ordered the restaurant to be closed while investigation of the crime scene continued. He said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was investigating the shell casings found at the site. The superintendent said there was the possibility that a rifle was used and that two different calibers of shell casings were recovered.

Snelling thanked police and fire department personnel who responded and treated victims at a crime scene he described as “chaotic.”

Johnson said a separate shooting on the Far South Side left four people hospitalized early Thursday.

“Shootings like these are a tragic reminder of how far we still have to go as a city,” Johnson said.

The mayor said he still wanted people to enjoy Chicago this weekend.

“This tragedy that we are working through today, again, this does not define us as a city. This is still the top destination for people around the globe,” Johnson said.

In recent weeks, the mayor has said repeatedly that his administration is making Chicago the safest and most affordable big city in America.