Devonte Williamson, the boyfriend of Chicago Drill rapper Mello Buckzz, was one of four people shot and killed at her album release party.
The 23-year-old was hit during a drive-by shooting while 14 people were wounded outside the Artis Restaurant and Lounge, where the album release party occurred.
Taylor Walker, 26; Aviance King, 27; and Leon Henry, 25, were the other victims identified.
NEW VIDEO shows the chaotic aftermath of a mass shooting in River North. Victims Identified in Outside Artis Lounge Nightclub in Chicago. album release event for local rapper Mello Buckzz. 4 killed, 14 wounded. Taylor Walker, Avi Drexler Vonte Leon Henryhttps://t.co/qlssQSZ9ZF pic.twitter.com/mFm6bOVnlY
— News Channel3 Now (@newschannel3now) July 3, 2025
According to witnesses, a black Honda Accord was seen circling the front of the club, apparently scouting the crowd. Moments later, the car returned, and gunshots rang out from inside the vehicle before it sped off heading east.
Mello Buckzz reacts to the mass shooting that killed four people outside her Hollyhood EP release party in Chicago on Wednesday night (July 2). pic.twitter.com/NeR75q7K1q
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) July 3, 2025
A witness told the Sun-Times he heard at least two dozen gunshots, describing a chaotic scene as police swarmed the area. Authorities later recovered both handgun and rifle rounds, with shell casings scattered inside and outside the venue.
Mello Buckzz hopped on Instagram to mourn her deceased boyfriend.
“My heart hurt so bad,” the rapper wrote on an Instagram Story.
“We was having so much fun in our private little life couldn’t leave each other alone glued to my hip everyday,” she wrote. “I held yo’ hand until I couldn’t.”
Mello Buckzz exploded onto the drill scene in 2021 with tracks like “Damn Buckzz” and “Essex Block Remix.” By 2022–2023, she was turning heads with “Boom (Mouskatool)” and then leveling up with “Boom Pt. 2” featuring Latto. G Herbo invited her to hop on “Outside” on his Strictly 4 My Fans 2 mixtape, cementing her place in Chicago’s drill scene