Latest news with #PastorDonovanPrice
The Independent
03-07-2025
- The Independent
‘Never seen anything quite like this': Chicago pastor shaken after visit to mass shooting scene where 4 were killed
For a Chicago pastor who has rushed to innumerable murder scenes over the past decade, showing up minutes later to comfort those impacted by senseless violence, what he saw on Wednesday night after a shooting outside a club hit him harder than he ever imagined. Pastor Donovan Price thought he had seen it all, and had visited other mass killing sites in the past. However, the scene outside the Artis Restaurant and Lounge in the city's River North neighborhood, following a record release party for local rapper Mello Buckzz, continues to haunt him, he said Thursday morning. 'I didn't expect that many people to be shot, police calling for six more ambulances, and everybody just going crazy, trying to find the people they were with, find their cell phones, find the keys to their cars, just madness,' Price told The Independent. 'And then, the amount of blood in the street. Stepping in blood, the mayhem, people laying in the street… I just really was overwhelmed by the number of people who were actually involved, and not bystanders – just, everybody had a stake in what had just happened.' As unsuspecting attendees streamed out of the club shortly after 11pm, a dark-colored SUV pulled up and a person – or persons – inside the vehicle started shooting into the crowd, leaving four dead and 14 wounded, according to cops. The SUV immediately fled, and no arrests have yet been made. Price arrived 20 to 25 minutes after the bullets began flying, he said. 'I work with homicides and shootings here in Chicago, I've been doing it since 2016, I had never seen anything quite like this,' he went on. 'And so it was a big shock.' Price said he immediately 'ran in and helped folks and did what I could,' assisting victims, helping family members find loved ones and trying to reassure traumatized witnesses. And while he was totally focused on the task at hand, Price said, 'it was still very taxing, more taxing than it had perhaps been before.' 'Afterwards, I went to three of the hospitals and there were a lot of people to calm down outside,' Price explained, voice breaking with emotion. 'Once it was over, I was able to just kind of take a breather, and it was very sad.' He found himself sobbing over what he had witnessed, Price said. In the aftermath, Price took to X to express what he was feeling. '2 hours ago my life changed,' Price posted at 3:01 a.m. 'pray for these… every time I try to talk tears run down my face,' he posted a half-hour later. 'just sitting in my car crying for some of the people I held tonight,' Price posted at 3:53 a.m. Of the 18 people shot, five were men and 13 were women, police said. All but two of the victims were between the ages of 21 and 32. A 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old man were among the four dead; two women were also killed, but no further details on them were provided by authorities. Mello Buckzz later posted on Instagram that her boyfriend and best friend had died in the shooting. 'Prayers up for all my sisters, God please wrap your arms around every last one of them,' Buckzz said in a subsequent statement. 'We need you, I need you…' As of early Thursday, three of the 14 people injured were listed in critical condition, nine were listed in good condition, one was listed in fair condition and one was listed in stable condition. By the numbers, shootings and homicides in Chicago have dropped sharply, with declines of 39 percent and 33 percent, respectively. At the same time, Price told The Independent that 'things seem more intense, the dynamic has changed.' As far as gun violence goes, Price said, 'There may always be a problem there. There has always been a problem.' 'I do know that many people are doing great work to battle this, and I hope they get the strength [to keep going] despite cuts in budgets and that type of thing, but all we can do is continue to [try],' Price went on. He said he hopes that 'we, as people, as a nation, as cities, as a world,' can recognize our individual roles in helping create a less violent existence for all. 'Maybe all you can do is sit in your chair and pray,' Price said. 'Make sure you do that. If you know young people out there, speak to them. Speak to the people you know, the people in your circle, and if the next person does the same thing, and the next person does the same thing, then the whole community will be safe.'
BBC News
03-07-2025
- BBC News
Four dead, 14 injured in drive-by shooting outside Chicago nightclub
At least four people were killed and 14 others injured in a drive-by shooting outside a Chicago nightclub, police Police said a dark-coloured car drove past the club around 23:00 local time (04:00 GMT) on Wednesday, when gunmen inside the vehicle opened fire into a crowd of people crowd was said to be leaving the nightclub following an album release party for rapper Mello Buckzz, the BBC's US partner, CBS News reported. Police said the vehicle fled the scene immediately and no one has been taken into custody. The victims of the shooting were rushed to several different area hospitals. Two men, ages 24 and 25, and two women, aged 26 and 27 years old, were pronounced dead, police said. At least four people taken to hospital are reported to be in critical to serious condition. The identities of the victims have not yet been Pastor Donovan Price said there were scenes of "absolute chaos" unlike he had ever seen before."From people screaming to blood on the streets to people laying on the streets... horrific," he told Reuters."It's something that you wouldn't expect to find in the city. We have a lot of shootings, but nothing like this."Following the incident, rapper Mello Buckzz said all she can do is "talk to god and pray".In a statement on social media, she said: "Prayers up for all my sisters god please wrap yo arms around every last one of them.""Feel like everything just weighing down on me," she added.
CBS News
03-07-2025
- CBS News
4 killed, 14 wounded in Chicago mass shooting outside River North nightclub
At least four people were killed and 14 others wounded in a drive-by mass shooting outside the Artis Lounge nightclub in Chicago's River North neighborhood on Wednesday night, police said. Around 11 p.m., Chicago police said a dark SUV drove past the nightclub in the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue. Police said three people inside the vehicle fired shots into a crowd of people standing outside. It appears the crowd was leaving the nightclub following an album release party for rapper Mello Buckzz. Chicago police confirmed four people died, including two men, 24 and 25 years old and two women. The victims injured in the shooting range in age from 21 to 32 years old. At least four people were listed in critical to serious condition at local hospitals. City officials confirmed there were multiple shooters. Chicago police investigate the scene of a shooting outside the Artis Restaurant and Lounge in the River North neighborhood on July 3, 2025. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP Rapper Mello Buckzz released a statement on social media saying in part, "Prayers up for all my sisters god please wrap yo arms around every last one of them." She then went on to say, "Feel like everything just weighing down on I can do is talk to god and pray." Pastor Donovan Price said the city spoke to CBS News Chicago after arriving on the chaotic scene. "People wanting to find their other people, find who was alive, finding where their phones were because they dropped them in the chaos, so they couldn't even call for, they couldn't even find their car keys," He said. "It's something that you wouldn't expect to find in the in the city. We have have a lot of shootings, but nothing like this." No arrests have been made. Police are searching for the three shooters. Police are investigating. The same block was also the scene of a mass shooting in November 2022, when the same nightclub was known as Hush Lounge. One person was killed and three others wounded after a group that had been thrown out of Hush started fighting. Police shut down the Hush nightclub after that shooting, and Artis Lounge later opened in the same location. This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.
