4 dead, 14 injured after Chicago drive-by shooting outside night club

A drive-by shooting in a Chicago neighborhood left four people dead and 14 others wounded late Wednesday night. As gunfire erupted, guests dropped to the ground for cover. Chicago pastor Donovan Price told the Associated Press the aftermath was chaotic, describing the incident as a “war zone.”

The shooting took place outside the Artis Restaurant and Lounge in River North, where a crowd was gathered following an album release party for the rapper Mello Buckzz.

”Just mayhem and blood and screaming and confusion as people tried to find their friends and phones. It was a horrendous, tragic, dramatic scene,” Price said.

Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling called the attack “cowardly” during a Thursday news conference, clarifying that the shooting was isolated to a location that had been rented out for a specific event.

“In a matter of seconds, they were able to shoot 18 people, taking four lives,” Snelling explained.

The driver fled the scene immediately. Authorities are asking the public for tips to help identify those involved. Police have not yet disclosed how many suspects were involved, but they recovered evidence of two different calibers at the scene, indicating multiple firearms were used.

The victims include 13 women and five men, all between the ages of 21 and 32. Among the four people killed were two women and two men. According to NBC Chicago, the boyfriend and best friend of Mello Buckzz were among the deceased.

Snelling explained police are working to determine a motive, saying the venue is closed “until we get to the bottom of this.”

“Clearly, there was some target in some way,” Snelling said. “This wasn’t some random shooting.”