How we photographed a mass shooting outside a River North restaurant
This week’s top photo comes from Visual Journalist Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere. Follow him on X, Bluesky, and Instagram.
How did you get the photo?
Wednesday was my day off, but nonetheless I'm always looking online to see what's happening in the city. As I was winding down for the night, I came across #ChicagoScanner chatter on X, where it was being reported that 12 people were struck in a mass shooting at Artis Restaurant and Lounge in River North. I alerted my team, got out of bed, loaded up my gear, and I was out the door to the scene. Because of the late hour, I wasn't waiting for a green light from my team.
When I got on scene, it was absolute chaos — it was hard to find the boundaries and orient myself. I called a photojournalist friend from the Chicago Tribune to ask about the media staging area, then made my way to the corner of North Orleans and West Chicago avenues. Upon arrival, I saw Chicago Police Department officials coming in and out of the restaurant, so I took out my long lens. I camped myself in a spot and began to compose the shot I envisioned: officers stepping out over all the debris just outside the restaurant's entrance, with the restaurant's signage in the background. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. Shortly after taking the shot, a supervising officer, not pictured, yelled at me to go across the street because I was too close and they were going to expand the perimeter of the crime scene.
This picture was a result of what I always strive for: to be in the right place at the right time. Had I arrived to the crime scene moments later, I would have missed it.
Technical details:
- Equipment: Nikon Z7II
- Focal length: 400mm
- Aperture: f/5
- Exposure: 1/320
- ISO: 8000
11 more powerful photos from the Sun-Times photo staff:
Workers of the property management office of Artis Restaurant and Lounge in River North clean up a red carpet, a Mello Buckzz poster and bloodied items after a mass shooting outside Artis, Thursday, July 3, 2025, where at least one gunman opened fire on a crowd after rapper Mello Buckzz’s album launch party Wednesday night. Four people were killed and 14 were wounded.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Mayor Brandon Johnson looks down at his notes as he reacts to an overnight mass shooting during a news conference at City Hall in the Loop, Thursday, July 3, 2025. Four people were fatally shot and 14 more injured Wednesday night after an album release party at the Artis Restaurant and Lounge at 311 W. Chicago Ave. in River North.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Sharonda Booth sobs during a balloon release and vigil for her daughter Taylor Walker outside Chicago Vocational High School in Avalon Park, Thursday, July 3, 2025. Walker was one of four victims who were killed overnight in a mass shooting outside Artis Restaurant and Lounge in River North.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Odai Alfayoumi completes the heart shape of his son on the silhouette of Wadee, which is part of the newly installed Wadee Monument at the Van Horn Woods East Playground in Plainfield, Saturday, June 28, 2025. Plainfield community members gathered to honor Wadee Alfayoumi, 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was killed by landlord Joseph Czuba in an Islamophobic hate crime murder in 2023.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Jean Claudio performs during a news conference at the Chicago Cultural Center to announce 100 Free Acts of Theater as part of the Goodman Theatre’s 100th anniversary season, produced in partnership with the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Yolanda Rivera, mother of CPD officer Krystal Rivera, is comforted by her husband, Rico Thompson, stepfather of Krystal Rivera, after speaking about the death of her daughter during a press conference to announce a civil investigation into the police shooting death of Rivera at the Romanucci & Blandin office at 321 N. Clark in River North, Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times