Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday condemned the weekend’s mass shooting in Washington Park, saying the city must continue his administration’s crime-fighting efforts.
Joining police and other city leaders for a news conference in the park’s fieldhouse, Johnson nodded to the grim aftermath of the violence that erupted late Saturday evening, leaving one person dead and 14 others wounded in the largest mass shooting in Chicago this year.
“There is no sugarcoating it. The violence that afflicted families over this weekend caused a tremendous amount of terror and trauma across the community,” the mayor told reporters. “But hear me clearly: What occurred just a few blocks from where we stand now is absolutely unacceptable, and it does not reflect the true nature of who we are as Chicagoans.”
While cautioning “the commitment I made to the people of Chicago is far from complete,” Johnson said the city’s work to address its stubborn gun violence epidemic cannot only concern the immediate response. To that, he nodded to his programs that tackle what he said were “root” causes of crime: community violence intervention, youth jobs, mental health resources — and also policing.
“But to take one approach towards driving violence down in the city of Chicago, that has already been proven to be ineffective,” Johnson said after thanking law enforcement.
Interim police Superintendent Fred Waller said an emergency assistance center will be open this Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Washington Park fieldhouse.
According to police, a pair of shooters dressed in black and wearing ski masks approached a gathering in the park just after 11:30 p.m. and fired into the crowd from across Cottage Grove Avenue. Someone shot back from the park, and officers later found separate sets of shell casings in the park and across the street, including rifle casings.
Per a police report obtained by the Tribune, the victims in Saturday’s shooting ranged in age from 21 to 47. Rontonio Guterz, 35, was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, authorities said.
A GoFundMe page posted by a woman who identified herself as Guterz’s sister says he used to perform with Chicago’s Bucket Boys and was the youngest of 12.
No one was in custody as of Tuesday. Waller confirmed somebody returned fire during the attack and that “we do believe that this was somewhat targeted.” He also said although officers were already trying to break up the crowd right before the gunfire, they were still on the outskirts of the gathering as some of them had just been responding to another homicide north of the Washington Park shooting.
As the former commander of Area 1, Waller said he was familiar with that stretch of the park and believes the poor lighting there could also be fixed.
“It takes quite a bit of officers to maintain the crime scene for that event. Officers were dispersed after they found out that this was starting to get out of hand, and it was now past 11 o’clock, which is time for the park to close,” Waller said. “This just goes to really speak to how emboldened some of these criminals are because if you see a police car, normally that’s a deterrent. It’s not always a deterrent when someone is determined to shoot someone.”
The shooting comes toward the end of a summer that could still leave Chicago in position to match 2025’s rate of gun violence, which was the lowest seen in a decade. However, the region where Washington Park is remains an outlier. Year over year, the 2nd District (Wentworth) has seen a 71% spike in homicides and a 49% increase in shootings. Area 1 has seen a 60% increase in homicides and a 16% spike in shootings overall.
Asked to reflect on why Washington Park’s trajectory is defying the direction of gun violence elsewhere in the city, Johnson said just one additional homicide could impact the trend, naming Roseland as an example of where progress has been made: “You understand the percentages there, right? Because you’re dealing with historic lows.”
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Dog Food Deals 2026
“The plan is working, and the challenge is to have zero homicides, no one hurt or shot,” Waller added. “But that’s not reality.”
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, 20th, said that moving forward, the Chicago Park District should get the OK from both the presiding alderman and the Police Department before issuing a permit for a gathering — though, she was clear to point out, the Saturday reunion barbeque should not be to blame for the shooters who came out after the park closed.
“There’s a conversation to be had with the Park District about permits,” Taylor said. “But the issue is, you got some idiot who decides to go up and shoot in a crowd. And I’ll say it again: If you got to take a gun to a park or a lake, then you should stay at home. We don’t have a lot of safe spaces in the city. Everybody knows in Chicago we love our parks, we love our lakes, and so we should be able to go to them without worrying about, am I gonna make it home?”
But she also cautioned against thinking throwing more money at the police could eradicate these attacks. Instead, she called for using cops more “strategically,” such as when they address large gatherings during Lollapalooza or at the beaches.
“We already spend 40% of the budget on policing. What do you want us to spend, 80%? Because policing does not make us safe,” Taylor said.