Chicago police released new photos and video of a person of interest in Friday night’s deadly shooting in the Loop that left a 14-year-old boy killed.
Photos and surveillance video, released early Wednesday morning, show a man in a purple hooded sweatshirt with a grey hooded jacket walking around south Dearborn street Friday night amid a crowd of people.
At one point, the man takes out the gun and points it towards others.
The photos were released as part of a community alert from police, with officials saying the man is a “person of interest” in connection with one of two shootings that took place in the Loop, hours after the city’s Christmas tree lighting in Millennium Park.
Police asked anyone with information about the person or the shooting to contact detectives at 312-744-8261, or submit an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.
About 10:40 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a call of a person shot and found two people who had been struck by gunfire. One of the victims, later identified as 14-year-old Armani Floyd, was shot multiple times and transported to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
A second victim, identified as an 18-year-old, was shot in the leg and last listed in serious condition, police said.
Officials said the gunfire was one of two separate shootings that erupted during what some referred to as “teen takeover” Friday. One of the shootings prompted a large police response outside the busy Chicago Theatre..
In the wake of the shooting, Ald. Brian Hopkins, writing in a newsletter, reiterated calls to establish “a place-and-time dependent” curfew. Chicago currently has a 10 p.m. curfew in place for minors.
“We can invest in our young people… while also protecting neighborhoods from riots…” he said. “Curfews may have protected the victims by preventing them from being on the street at all.”
Both downtown shootings happened before 10 p.m., which is the curfew time Hopkins is pushing for.
Mayor Brandon Johnson held a press conference Saturday morning after the shootings, saying, “incidents like last night set us back as a city and evoke fear.”
“I recognize this feels like emotional whiplash after this incredible celebration last night, where thousands of people gathered Chicagoans who were enjoying our tree lighting ceremony, thousands of Chicagoans came to express their love for our city…” he said, in part.
Johnson, discussing the spate of gun violence, blasted what he referred to as “unsanctioned after-gatherings” and called on adults to do their best to accompany young people at such large community events.
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