In a tragic event on Chicago’s South Side, seven individuals were shot, resulting in two fatalities, according to local police reports. Among those who lost their lives was a beloved chef, recognized widely in the Chicago culinary scene.
The mass shooting unfolded in the early hours of Friday, specifically around 12:26 a.m., in the 5100 block of South Wood Street. The scene turned chaotic when two individuals approached a crowd gathered outside and indiscriminately opened fire.
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Authorities detailed that one male victim suffered critical injuries to his head, chest, and leg. Despite being rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center, he succumbed to his injuries. Another victim, also male, was shot in the abdomen and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Police said two suspects approached a group of people standing outside, took out guns and fired at the group.
One male victim was shot in the head, chest and leg and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Another male victim was shot in the abdomen and transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
A 23-year-old woman was shot in the head and transported to Stroger Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.
A 54-year-old man was shot in the ankle and transported to Stroger Hospital in fair condition. A 30-year-old woman was shot in the thigh and hand and transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where she was in fair condition.
A 32-year-old man was shot in the torso and transported to the University of Chicago Hospital, where he was listed in good condition. A 21-year-old man was shot in the back and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in good condition.
“I’m scared, honestly it’s dangerous,” Mario Ramirez, who lives nearby, said.
Ramirez said he heard what sounded like machine guns – rapidly firing gunshots outside his home shortly after midnight.
“Last night I was sleeping,” Ramirez said. “I live right here. I just moved in a couple months ago and this is the second time I’ve heard shots, really bad. Last night was really crazy. Yeah really bad.”
“I know some people died because some people were praying in the night,” Ramirez said.
Someone who said he’s a violence interrupter told ABC7 they just talked about this particular area being a problem at a recent meeting.
“Eventually when people hang out all day – party drinking these things happen,” he said. “We just talked about this at the CAPS meeting Wednesday about what’s happening on this block. Just hanging out all night, loud, making noise music and drinking.”
One woman said her red car was parked on the street when a vehicle slammed into it – amid the chaos.
Neighbor Mario Ramirez has a daughter and a newborn. This has scared him and his family so much, he said they now want to move away.
“I’m gonna move,” he said. “This is my last month living there. I talked to the guy already. Because I have children and it’s really dangerous.”
Chemistry Steakhouse in Hyde Park was one of the first of many restaurants Chef Isaac “Wavy” Bradley, one of the victims killed in the shooting, helped to create. But his family says another passion of his was being a barber and mentor, and says he was doing just that before the mass shooting took his life.
“It’s heartbreaking. It really is, and Isaac wasn’t finished,” Bradley’s close friend Tenesha Ford said.
“I remember when he first opened up this place,” Bradley’s brother David Johnson said. “So, for me to be here without him, it doesn’t seem like that’s what it should be.”
Chicago’s restaurant scene is now left in pieces after the loss of Chef “Wavy,” who, for years, was one of its leading forces.
“The community lost Isaac. We lost the future to restaurants,” Ford said.
The tragic loss happened overnight during a mass shooting in the same neighborhood where Bradley was raised.
“He was leaving from cutting someone’s hair, from what I was told, and as he was leaving to go, shots rang out,” his sister Rhena Bradley said.
“We started to work so well together, and created brands like Litehouse Whole Food Grill, Stussy’s Diner, Chemistry’s, Soul Shack,” Isaac Bradley’s business partner Erik “Rico” Nance said.
Nance said they planning a big box store rollout for Bradley’s so-called Soul Rolls.
“To go into all the Meijers and Krogers, and Jewels and stuff like that all over,” Nance said. “We were in our final meeting to finalize those things, actually this morning at nine o’clock. And of course, we learned that he passed right before that meeting.”
But Bradley’s legacy is still left behind, though now in the hands of broken hearts.
“Just walk with me, one more walk, one more conversation. Let me pick your brain again. Fuss at me. Like something,” Rhena Bradley said. “We don’t get to get anything.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Isaac Bradley’s family.
The other victim killed in the mass shooting has not yet been identified by officials.
Cook County Crime Stoppers is now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of those responsible for the mass shooting.
Area One detectives are investigating.
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