1 dead, 8 wounded after 2 shootings in the Loop, hours after Chicago's Christmas tree lighting

preCharge News ILLINOIS — One person died and eight people were wounded in a pair of shootings late Friday night in the Loop, just hours after Chicago lit the city’s official Christmas tree just blocks away in Millennium Park.

Seven teens were injured in the first shooting, which police said happened near the intersection of State and Randolph streets near the Chicago Theatre around 9:50 p.m. Two people were shot, one fatally, during the second shooting near Adams and Dearborn streets about half an hour later.

During the first shooting, Chicago police officers were on patrol and heard gunshots being fired into a large group in the 100 block of North State Street.

Officers found the seven victims, who were taken to both Stroger Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital, in fair to good condition. Police said the victims range in age from 13 to 17 years old.

After the second shooting in the 100 Block of South Dearborn Street, police found two victims with gunshot wounds. Police said one of the victims was taken to Northwestern Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The second victim, an 18-year-old man, was taken to the same hospital in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the leg.

According to unconfirmed police dispatch reports, officers were following a group of young people in the Loop at the time the first shooting happened.

In a post on X, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), whose ward includes parts of downtown, said multiple police were “attacked and injured with mace and stun guns,” and at least one officer was taken to the hospital. Hopkins said at least one of the gunshot victims was in critical condition, with a life-threatening gunshot wound to the torso.

The shootings took place on an extremely busy night in the Loop, with huge crowds packing downtown for the Christmas tree lighting in Millennium Park and the first night of Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza.

Christkindlmarket had just closed for the night at 9 p.m.

Linda Dixon was with a group of people leaving the Chicago Theatre when they saw police rushing to the scene.

“We’re coming out of the theater, and everybody just start running. We almost got knocked in the street, because everyone was running that way from down here. I’m not exactly sure what happened,” Dixon said. “It is very disheartening to see this, you know? Holiday time, everybody wants to celebrate and enjoy the evening, and something like this happens.”