Downtown, lakefront beaches will get special attention, officials say
Chicago police and Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed safety concerns for the July 4, 2025 weekend after a River North mass shooting.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago leaders on Thursday addressed concerns about safety during the upcoming holiday weekend.
A mass shooting in River North Wednesday night and another one that wounded four people on the city’s South Side early Thursday morning are stark reminders that violence can happen anywhere in the city.
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The police superintendent offered assurances Thursday that the strategic plan is one that is city-wide.
“Certainly frustrated and angered by this senseless and cowardice act of violence,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
Johnson says he will not stand for the kind of violence that happened in River North.
Police are calling the deadly mass shooting a targeted attack, involving multiple weapons that killed four people and wounded another 14 outside a private event.
“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,” CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said.
The Fourth of July weekend often brings large crowds downtown and to popular places like the lakefront beaches, which police say will get extra attention this weekend as part of the overall safety plan.
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“So what I can assure you is that Chicago Police Department will be out in full force, making sure that we’re keeping the city safe and protecting lives from one end of this city to the other,” Snelling said.
Community groups focused on preventing violence will also be spread out in key areas of the city, as they often do on summer weekends.
“So for us, as the Crisis Response Unit, you know, we’ll be paying attention and monitoring our hotspots,” crisis responder Rodney Phillips said. “We understand the task and what we’re up against. All we can do is do our best.”
Like police, they will focus on places like parks or the lakefront, where large crowds will gather this weekend. And the city is asking them to step up their efforts.
“We are expanding and extending the hours of CVI (Community Violence Intervention), so that these community violence interrupters can be in places strategically and longer to provide more support within these communities,” Johnson said.
Police are on alert for possible retaliation from Wednesday night’s shooting.
“Anything that we uncover, and there’s a possibility of retaliation, we would have an idea of where that retaliation can occur. And we would put resources in place to prevent that,” Snelling said.
Police are asking that anyone with information about the River North shooting please come forward, or even send in anonymous tips.
They are looking into the possibility that shooting itself may have been in retaliation for a previous incident.
