Armani Floyd, a 14-year-old Black/African American male from Chicago, Illinois, died on November 21, 2025, after being shot amid a “teen takeover” in the city’s downtown Loop on the night of the annual Christmas tree lighting in Millennium Park. He was among large crowds of young people who had come downtown for the holiday festivities when violence broke out in two separate shootings that together left one teen dead and eight others wounded.
According to police and the Cook County medical examiner, Floyd was critically injured in the second of those attacks, which unfolded near Federal Plaza in the 100 block of South Dearborn Street, and he later died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Investigators say the night’s violence began shortly before 10 p.m. outside the Chicago Theatre on State Street, where seven teenagers between 13 and 17 years old were shot as large groups milled around after the tree-lighting ceremony. Roughly 30 to 40 minutes later, officers were called a few blocks away to South Dearborn, where they found Floyd and an 18-year-old man who had also been struck by gunfire. Police reports and local news accounts indicate that Floyd had been shot multiple times; both victims were taken to Northwestern Memorial, where he was pronounced dead and the older victim was listed in serious condition.
Chicago police have released surveillance video and still images of a suspected gunman and have asked for the public’s help in identifying him. The footage shows a male figure in a distinctive outfit—described in various reports as a purple tracksuit or onesie with a gray or tan jacket or hooded sweatshirt, and dark Nike sneakers—walking with others in the Loop, then pulling a handgun and aiming it toward a crowd on South Dearborn around the time of the shooting. Detectives have circulated these images citywide and urged anyone with information to contact Area Three detectives or submit an anonymous tip through the CPD tip line or Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Floyd’s killing, while an additional $5,000 reward has been publicized through partner organizations and media reports, bringing the potential reward to as much as $15,000. As of the most recent public updates in late November 2025, authorities had not announced any arrests directly tied to Floyd’s death, and earlier arrests made downtown that night were reported as unrelated to the homicide itself.
In the days after the shooting, friends, family and mentors painted a vivid picture of who Floyd was in life. He was a longtime participant in Project sWISH, a South Shore–based youth basketball and mentoring program that focuses on giving teens a safe, structured alternative to street violence; coaches and teammates remembered him as charismatic, funny, intensely competitive on the court and serious about school, with reports noting a strong GPA and aspirations for the future. Vigils and memorial events were held at the gym where he played, with candles and sneakers arranged in his honor, and a fundraiser was launched to help his family cover funeral and related expenses. Anti-violence advocates, including leaders from Cure Violence Global—who noted that Floyd was the child of one of their former outreach workers—publicly mourned his death, framing it as both a deeply personal loss and a stark example of the broader toll of gun violence on Chicago families. City officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, condemned the shootings and renewed debates over curfews, youth programming and holiday security plans as the investigation into Floyd’s killing continues.
