Imran Yaqub
New York
Hundreds of people swept through the Magnificent Mile and other parts of downtown Chicago, smashing windows, looting stores, confronting police and at one point exchanging gunfire with officers, authorities said. In a different incident in Washington President Donald Trump leaves white House briefing due to shooting for a while.
More than 100 people were arrested. according to Chicago police Superintendent David Brown. Thirteen officers were injured during the unrest, including a sergeant who was hit by a bottle. A civilian and private security guard were shot and wounded.
“What occurred in our downtown and surrounding communities was abject criminal behavior, pure and simple,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “And there cannot be any excuse for it. Period.”
City officials said the seeds for the violent crime spree were sown on social media Sunday afternoon following an officer involved shooting in the Englewood neighborhood. Officers shot and wounded a 20-year-old man Sunday after he fired shots at them while being chased, authorities said.
The man was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center and is expected to survive, Brown said. It took police officers roughly four hours to get the downtown back under control, leading to finger pointing across the political spectrum and calls for the Illinois National Guard to once again help quell unrest in the country’s third-largest city.
Downtown Ald. Brian Hopkins, who said he was on Michigan Avenue from midnight to 4 a.m., described a scene in which officers were overwhelmed by looters and apparently did not have much of a plan for restoring order. He criticized Lightfoot for failing to develop an effective strategy following looting incidents in May and June.
The Civilian Office Police Accountability, the city agency that investigates all officer-involved shootings, released a statement confirming Brown’s assertion that the wounded male is an adult. Some social media accounts that authorities say fueled the unrest referred to him as a 15-year-old boy.
There is no body camera video to support the police department’s account and authorities are seeking security footage from residents in the neighborhood.
The lack of immediate, independent corroboration drew skepticism from several community groups, including Black Lives Matter Chicago. The group, which planned a protest outside a near South Side police precinct Monday night, blasted Lightfoot for accepting the police version of events and not doing more to institute reforms.
The organization also suggested the man was right to flee authorities, given the department’s history of racism and abusive tactics. They also criticized the officers for pursuing the man in light warnings from the U.S. Department of Justice about the dangerous turn foot chases can take.
A large number of officers cordoned off streets in nearly every direction until the mood of the crowd cooled off. But by that time, Brown said, messages began appearing on social media encouraging people to head downtown.
