Waukegan officials remain tight-lipped about Scoop shooting: ‘All it takes is one idiot ruining things for thousands of people’

Ron Celesnik, a Waukegan native who “scooped the loop” as a teenager and is now active in the operation of Scoop Waukegan in its current form, was directing traffic at the corner of Water and Genesee Streets in downtown Waukegan at around 6 p.m. Saturday when everything changed.

“I saw cops running up the street, and I said, ’ What’s going on,’” Celesnik said. “They said, ‘It’s a shooting.’ You’ve got to be kidding. All it takes is one idiot ruining things for thousands of people.

“There were 15 or 20 officers running toward the scene,” he said. “I stayed where I was.”

Celesnik was one of thousands of people at Scoop Waukegan Saturday evening when what had been a celebration of cars — from century-old classics to modified newer ones — changed from a civic festival to a shooting investigation in a matter of seconds.

Police and city officials remained tight-lipped Monday when asked for details about the shooting incident, about which little has been released.

Shortly after the police got to the scene of the shooting near Genesee and Washington streets, a block from where Celesnik was directing traffic, he said the fire department arrived.

There was a large presence of officers from the Waukegan police and fire departments at Scoop Waukegan both Friday night, when it began, and all day Saturday, ensuring the event went smoothly and being there in case they were needed for something more serious.

“The fire department was there in minutes,” he said. “From what I understand, they saved the gentleman’s life,” he added, referring to the shooting victim.

Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said in an email Sunday he was “disappointed” with the way “one of the city’s greatest traditions” ended early because an “isolated incident” ended the event early.

“Let me be absolutely clear: this single, isolated act does not, and will not, define Scoop Waukegan,” Cunningham said. “I refuse to allow the joy and spirit of thousands of peaceful families to be overshadowed or erased by the reckless actions of one individual.

“There is no excuse and no justification for bringing violence into a space where children were playing, families were bonding, friends were reconnecting and neighbors were celebrating together,” he said.

Despite the early end of Scoop Waukegan Saturday, Cunningham said nothing should diminish the success of the event, which was record-setting with approximately 1,200 cars on Friday night and more than 1,700 on Saturday.

“This weekend proved that the overwhelming majority of attendees at the event came together with the sole intention of celebrating a great tradition,” he said. “I will not permit the reckless actions of a disruptive individual to speak for the thousands of individuals who made this event a triumph.”

Though his condemnation of the shooter was clear, Cunningham had praise for the police officers and firefighters who reacted instantaneously when they heard gunfire and moved to the scene of the shooting.

“I am filled with gratitude for (their) swift, decisive and heroic actions,” he said. “Their immediate response, tactical containment of the scene, and professionalism undoubtedly prevented further harm and restored order to a chaotic situation.”