Nearly a year after a deadly mass shooting at her album release party, Chicago drill rapper Mello Buckzz was arrested on multiple charges, including possession of a stolen firearm. The 25-year-old artist, whose legal name is Melanie Doyle, was taken into custody on the evening of June 15 in the 1900 block of South Rockwell Street, according to Chicago Police Department and Cook County court records.
Doyle was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, resisting arrest, driving with an obstructed windshield, and transporting open alcohol. Police stopped her vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, due to the heavily tinted front windshield. Officers reportedly discovered a small amount of marijuana in her purse and an open bottle of vodka on the floor near the front passenger seat.
When police ordered Doyle to exit the car, she allegedly refused, prompting the arrival of a sergeant from the Ogden District (10th). After approximately 15 minutes and repeated commands, officers were able to remove her from the vehicle. During the encounter, one officer observed the barrel of a firearm protruding from under the driver’s seat. The recovered Glock pistol was reported stolen from the southwest suburban area of Bedford Park.
At her initial court appearance, a judge ordered Doyle held in the Cook County Jail. She is scheduled for another hearing on Monday. Doyle addressed her followers, who number nearly 500,000 on Instagram, with an audio message from jail, expressing determination and asking for continued support and prayers. She also cautioned against believing everything seen online.
Separately, earlier this month, Doyle’s father, Melvin Doyle, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon. According to court records, Melvin Doyle sold a Glock pistol to an undercover informant on May 20, 2025, as part of a string of transactions on Chicago’s South Side. He was arrested in July 2025, days after the mass shooting at his daughter’s party. He faces up to six months in prison at his September sentencing. Melvin Doyle has a criminal record that includes a 1998 conviction for attempted murder.
The mass shooting occurred on July 2, 2025, during Mello Buckzz’s album release party in the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue. The attack left four people dead and 14 others wounded, marking one of Chicago’s most severe single-incident shootings in recent years. Authorities have not filed any arrests or charges related to the shooting. Police described the incident as linked to an ongoing South Side gang feud. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling acknowledged a likely motive connected to that context.
City officials have expressed concern over increasing gun violence this year after several years of decline. In late June 2026, another mass shooting was reported on the 200 block of West 95th Street, where at least 12 people were shot. Investigations into that incident are ongoing, and no arrests have been reported. Mayor Brandon Johnson, speaking at an unrelated protest on June 17, called the shooting “heartbreaking.”