A Washington Park shooting accounted for 15 victims as police investigated a series of attacks across the city.
CHICAGO, IL — Forty-one people were shot, including three who were killed, in 22 shooting incidents across Chicago from Friday evening through Sunday night, according to Chicago police figures reported after a violent final weekend of August.
The shootings occurred between 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. The largest incident happened late Saturday in Washington Park, where 15 people were shot during a large gathering on the South Side. One of those victims, 35-year-old Rontonio M. Guterz of Chicago, died. The mass shooting accounted for more than one-third of the people included in the police department’s weekend total and became the largest single shooting in Chicago so far this year.
Police said officers were already at Washington Park and were trying to disperse a large crowd in the 5400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue when gunfire erupted at about 11:37 p.m. Investigators said one or more people began firing into the gathering. Authorities initially reported 10 victims but later identified five additional people who had been wounded, bringing the total to 15. The surviving victims ranged in age from 21 to 47.
The gathering was described by participants and community leaders as a reunion involving former residents of the Robert Taylor Homes, the public housing complex that once stood nearby. Police Superintendent Larry Snelling later said the shooting appeared to have been somewhat targeted and indicated that investigators believed more than one person was involved. A police report obtained by local news organizations said two masked gunmen opened fire and that someone at the gathering returned fire. Investigators recovered evidence from multiple firearms and began reviewing video and vehicle movements connected to the scene.
The Washington Park attack was one of several serious shootings during the weekend. Earlier Saturday evening, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the 5200 block of West Augusta Boulevard after police said someone fired from a passing sport utility vehicle. The teenager was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he later died. Police also reported a fatal shooting late Saturday in the first block of East 37th Street, where three people were struck. A 32-year-old man was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center, while a 31-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman survived.
Other shootings were reported across multiple neighborhoods throughout the weekend, with victims ranging in age from 15 to 73, according to police. Some were wounded while standing outside, driving or attending gatherings. Police reports listed injuries ranging from people expected to recover to victims who were in critical or serious condition. In many of the individual cases, police said no arrests had been made when the incidents were first reported.
There was a slight discrepancy among published weekend counts as information continued to be updated. Chicago police reported 41 people shot in 22 incidents during its standard weekend reporting period. CBS News Chicago said its own count identified 42 shooting victims in 23 incidents after additional information emerged. The official police total of 41, including three fatalities, was also reported by other Chicago news organizations. Such differences can occur when victims reach hospitals independently or when later investigation links injuries to earlier shooting scenes.
The Washington Park shooting remained a major focus of the investigation in the days that followed. Authorities said they were reviewing surveillance video, tracking vehicles and examining evidence recovered from the area. Cook County Crime Stoppers, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later joined an effort offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
City officials also announced services for people affected by the Washington Park shooting. Mayor Brandon Johnson visited the area as officials outlined an emergency assistance center intended to connect victims, relatives, witnesses and community members with counseling and other support. Community organizations involved in violence intervention also met with residents after the shooting, which disrupted what had begun as a reunion gathering.
No arrest in the Washington Park mass shooting had been publicly announced in the most recent reports reviewed. Investigators continued seeking information about the person or people responsible while police separately investigated the other shootings that contributed to the weekend’s death and injury toll.
Author note: Last updated September 6, 2026.