Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16 recap: Who was responsible for the shooting at the diner?
NBC's Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16, titled Seen and Unseen premiered on March 26, 2025. The latest episode of the police procedural drama focuses on a case involving a mass shooting at a local diner. Since Burgess is a regular at the place and knows the victims, she becomes personally involved in the case.
The Chicago P.D. team follows different leads, including a gang association, a troubled man who regularly visited the place, and the husband of one of the workers. In the end, it is revealed that the shooter was Jeff, the husband of Marge, a waitress at the diner. He intended to shoot his wife for telling the police about his crimes and ended up killing every other witness.
After this emotionally heavy case, Burgess and Ruzek spend time together to process the day.
Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16: A local diner shooting turns personal for Burgess
In Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16, Detective Kim Burgess has a lot on her plate. She has to keep up with wedding planning, parenting, and endless paperwork. She finds solace in a quiet local diner and grows friendly with the staff.
Over the course of a few days, Burgess becomes a regular. However, her peaceful retreat is shattered one night when she sees a man running from the diner, warning her to leave. She goes to inspect the place and finds that everyone inside has been shot.
Burgess takes the case personally. She recalls that one of the victims, Gabriel Basco, was a former gang member with outstanding debts. This lead turns out to be false when Basco's gang leader, Jose Garcia, reveals that Basco has already settled his debts. The team now starts looking into other motives.
Burgess tracks down the culprit, leading to a deadly shootout Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16
In Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16, the second lead in the diner shooting case also comes from Burgess. She has a vague memory of the waitresses catering to a troubled man, Neal, who would visit the diner every day.
Garcia tells the police that he thought he saw Neal carrying a gun that day. Burgess and her team search for his fingerprints at the crime scene. They are able to track him down.
Neal Rodgers was a grieving teacher whose life had unraveled after his wife’s death. When they find him at home, he is wounded, barely holding himself together.
At first, Neal refuses to cooperate, but Burgess pushes him. She realizes he wasn’t the shooter, but he might have seen the shooter. Slowly, Neal reveals that one of the waitresses, Marge’s husband, Jeff, was the culprit.
Jeff was struggling with gambling debts and had attempted a robbery to cover them. When Marge found out, she tried to tip off the police anonymously. Jeff found out and confronted her at the diner. In a fit of rage, he killed her, then turned his gun on the others to avoid any eyewitnesses.
Neal’s testimony is enough for the police to arrest Jeff. When they try to do so, Jeff refuses to surrender, leading to a deadly shootout. He is killed on the scene.
The tragic case in Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 16 makes Burgess realize that she has to make the best of every moment. Along with Ruzek, she takes some time for herself, and the couple enjoys a romantic getaway.
Stay tuned for more updates on Chicago P.D. season 12.
