A 16-year-old boy died after being shot in the neck near the Grant Park Skate Park in Chicago's South Loop. The teenager was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No one is in custody.
Police say the shooting happened at 9:05 p.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of South Michigan Avenue, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The teen was found with a gunshot wound to the neck and was initially listed in serious condition before he died at the hospital. CBS News placed the shooting near the Grant Park Skate Park, a public facility close to Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road, with Area 3 detectives assigned to lead the homicide investigation.
The Timing of the Shooting
The shooting happened Wednesday night, and investigators have not addressed whether the timing played any role in Wednesday's shooting.
The 1100 block of South Michigan Avenue and its adjacent skate park have a documented history of violent incidents stretching back years, per CWB Chicago's reporting on the site. That history includes a July 2020 shooting that grazed a 15-year-old boy and a September 2021 shooting.
Recent Warnings About Youth Mobs on the Same Block
The block was also the site of a mob-style attack weeks earlier. In July 2026, the Chicago Police Department issued a public safety alert after a group of 10 to 16 males attacked a woman near the 1100 block of South Michigan Avenue, according to CBS News Chicago. Police said the group was targeting pedestrians for jewelry and cellphones in the area near Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road.
The shooting is being investigated by Area 3 detectives, according to police. The block has also been the subject of earlier CWB Chicago reporting.
A Citywide Homicide Uptick After a Historic Low
Wednesday's shooting comes amid renewed attention to Chicago's crime trajectory. CPD statistics cited by WTTW News and reported by Hoodline on August 19, 2026, showed 234 homicides through June. The figures offer broader context for the city's ongoing crime discussion.
The South Loop has seen its own share of gun violence this year beyond Wednesday's shooting. In August, two separate shootings within two weeks struck the nearby 1200 block of South Ruble Street, leaving two men seriously injured and both treated at Stroger Hospital's Level 1 Trauma Center, as Hoodline reported. And in July, a 31-year prison sentence was handed down on July 7, 2026, to Jordan Parks in the 2023 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Cameron Rayford near Perspectives Charter School on the 1900 block of South State Street, a drive-by that happened shortly after school let out.
Investigators have not said whether the 16-year-old was targeted or whether the shooting stemmed from any dispute at the skate park, and no arrests had been announced as of Thursday. Area 3 detectives continue to investigate, and anyone with information is urged to contact Chicago Police.
