Rapper Mello Buckzz‘s album release party turned chaotic and it’s in the news! It was supposed to be a night full of music and fun, but things took a serious turn when four people were fatally shot and dozens more were injured.
Album release parties are usually a good time to have fun and listen to some good music but this one turned into a total nightmare. It’s scary to think about how something that should have been a celebration ended up with such tragic consequences.
Police have said that at around 11pm, a dark vehicle drove past Artis Restaurant and Lounge in the city’s River North neighborhood where crowds gathered to celebrate the release of rapper Mello Buckzz‘s new album, Hollyhood.
As many as three occupants of the vehicle then opened fire into the crowd.
In shocking surveillance footage shared online shows, the dark-colored car could be seen pulling up next to the restaurant on West Chicago Avenue when at least one person pointed a gun out of the window and began firing.
The gunshots immediately sent a large group of people standing on the sidewalk outside scrambling to find cover.
One witness claimed to the Chicago Sun-Times he heard at least two dozen shots before police arrived on the scene.
Victims ranging in age from 21 to 32 were then rushed to community hospitals, where two men and two women were pronounced dead and four others remain in critical condition, CBS News reports.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has since identified the male victims as 25-year-old Leon Andrew Henry and 23-year-old Devonte Terrell Williamson, who was dating Mello Buckzz.
Mello Buckzz, whose real name is Melanie Doyle, also identified the other victim as a woman named Taylor in a tribute on social media.
‘Prayers up for all my sisters, God please, wrap yo’ arms around every last one of them,’ the rapper added in another post. ‘Feel like everything just weighing down on me… all I can do is talk to God and pray.’
She also shared pics of her and Williamson together, with a caption reading ‘my handsomeee man.’
‘I don’t wish this typa pain on nobody,’ Mello Buckzz added.
Police now say they believe the rap star was the intended target of the shooting – but she had already left the venue when the assailants opened fire.
An unidentified source also told the Sun-Times the occupants of the black Honda Accord initially circled around the front of the club to see who was there.
When the car then came back around, the occupants opened fire before fleeing eastward.
‘They didn’t care who was struck, and in a matter of seconds they were able to shoot 18 people,’ Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a news conference on Thursday.
He added that police believe it was an ‘isolated’ attack, noting that the restaurant was rented out specifically for the album-release party.
Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of those affected by this terrible event. Let’s hope for justice and healing for everyone involved.
