Four killed and dozens injured after gunfire erupts at popular rapper's album release party
Police have said that at around 11pm, a dark vehicle drove past Artis Restaurant and Lounge in the city's River North neighborhood where crowds gathered to celebrate the release of rapper Mello Buckzz's new album, Hollyhood.
As many as three occupants of the vehicle then opened fire into the crowd.
In shocking surveillance footage shared online shows, the dark-colored car could be seen pulling up next to the restaurant on West Chicago Avenue when at least one person pointed a gun out of the window and began firing.
The gunshots immediately sent a large group of people standing on the sidewalk outside scrambling to find cover.
One witness claimed to the Chicago Sun-Times he heard at least two dozen shots before police arrived on the scene.
Victims ranging in age from 21 to 32 were then rushed to community hospitals, where two men and two women were pronounced dead and four others remain in critical condition, CBS News reports.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has since identified the male victims as 25-year-old Leon Andrew Henry and 23-year-old Devonte Terrell Williamson, who was dating Mello Buckzz.
The names of the female victims have not yet been released, but Shaniah Battle, who was among the wounded, told CBS News that one of them was her sister, Aviance King.
Mello Buckzz, whose real name is Melanie Doyle, also identified the other victim as a woman named Taylor in a tribute on social media.
'Prayers up for all my sisters, God please, wrap yo' arms around every last one of them,' the rapper added in another post. 'Feel like everything just weighing down on me... all I can do is talk to God and pray.'
She also shared pics of her and Williamson together, with a caption reading 'my handsomeee man.'
'I don't wish this typa pain on nobody,' Mello Buckzz added.
Police now say they believe the rap star was the intended target of the shooting - but she had already left the venue when the assailants opened fire.
An unidentified source also told the Sun-Times the occupants of the black Honda Accord initially circled around the front of the club to see who was there.
When the car then came back around, the occupants opened fire before fleeing eastward.
'They didn't care who was struck, and in a matter of seconds they were able to shoot 18 people,' Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a news conference on Thursday.
He added that police believe it was an 'isolated' attack, noting that the restaurant was rented out specifically for the album-release party.
Snelling went on to say that police believe there may have been as many as three shooters, with police finding both handgun and rifle rounds from the scene and several shell casings inside the club.
But he would not confirm or deny whether the shooting may have been gang related, as Mello Buckzz appeared to claim an affiliation with a Chicago gang on her Facebook page.
It includes a reference to NLMB - an acronym for the No Limit Muskegon Boys gang in the city, the Sun-Times reports.
Prominent drill rapper G Herbo is a longtime associate of the gang and was featured on a track on Mello Buckzz's new album.
As the police investigation continues, Snelling said officers issued as summary closure of the restaurant - which is located at the site of a nightclub that was shut down by city officials more than two years ago after a fatal mass shooting happened outside.
The police superintendent added that officers stand prepared for any possible retaliation.
'There's coordination - not only coordination with our local partners here, but also our federal partners when it comes to the possibility of gang conflict,' the police superintendent said.
'We're also making sure that anything that we uncover - and there's a possibility of retaliation - we would have an idea of where that retaliation could occur and we would put resources in place to prevent that.'
Police will also be out in full force over the holiday weekend 'making sure we are keeping the city safe and protecting lives,' Snelling assured the public.
Police will be out in full force for the holiday weekend and are prepared for any possible retaliation, Superintendent Larry Snelling said
In a statement, the owners of Artis Lounge confirmed they are working with police in their investigation.
'Last night, an act of violence occurred within the vicinity of our restaurant and it deeply shook us,' they said.
'Artis was created as a safe space. A space where black, brown, queer and allied communities could gather, be celebrated and feel at home in River North. We've always led with that mission. And what happened last night disrupted it in the most painful way.'
'Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones.'
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