Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has banned youths from Millennium Park on weekend nights after a 16-year-old was killed.
On Saturday, around 7:30 p.m., Seandell Holliday was shot at the park for unspecified reasons. In response to the shooting, Lightfoot banned unaccompanied minors from visiting the park after 6 p.m. The ban went into effect immediately from Thursday-Sunday but didn’t have a set end date.
Children will still be allowed to visit the park but with a “responsible” adult. The policy will be “strictly enforced, and violations will be dealt with swiftly,” Lightfoot said in a statement.
Lightfoot also said the city would partner with school systems to educate kids about the policy.
“As a city, we must ensure that our young people have safe spaces to congregate and that in those spaces they are peaceful and actually safe,” Lightfoot says. “I am calling on all parents, guardians, and caring adults to step up at this moment and do whatever it takes to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again and to encourage appropriate behavior when our young people gather anywhere in this great city of ours.”
Seandell’s shooting happened at the 200 block of East Randolph Street. The teenager was shot in his chest and taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A 17-year-old was arrested “moments” following the shooting. Authorities charged him with second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated unlawful weapon use in connection to the shooting. He is currently being held on a $250,000 bond.
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