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Chicago Police Arrest More Than 100 People After Looting Batters Downtown Chicago Police Arrest More Than 100 People After Looting Batters Downtown
(about 2 hours later)
The Chicago authorities arrested more than 100 people and briefly raised bridges to the downtown as unrest and looting overnight caused widespread damage in the city’s main business and shopping district, officials said on Monday. CHICAGO — Hundreds of people converged early Monday on the Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s most famous shopping district, breaking windows, looting stores and clashing with the police, a chaotic scene that prompted city officials to briefly raise bridges downtown and halt nearby public transit to stem the unrest.
The police superintendent, David Brown, said in a news conference that more than 400 police officers were dispatched after the police became aware of a social media post about potential looting in the downtown. Chicago police officers arrested more than 100 people on charges of disorderly conduct, looting and battery against the police.
The arrests were made on charges of looting, disorderly conduct and battery against the police, he said, and 13 officers were injured, including one struck with a bottle and one whose nose was broken. A security guard and a civilian were struck during a melee, he added, and both were taken to a hospital in critical condition. The eruption of violence unnerved a city that is already on edge. Chicago, like many other cities across the country, has seen a spike in gun crimes this summer. Its residents have participated in dozens of demonstrations protesting police brutality. And it is still in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, with cases steadily increasing in recent weeks.
Early Monday morning, city officials briefly raised most of the bridges to the downtown and suspended some train and bus service to the area. Dozens of police officers remained there after the bridges were lowered, and business owners began to pick through the damage: cash registers overturned in a pharmacy, windows broken at high-end stores, empty boxes scattered outside a jewelry store. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, appearing at a morning news conference, made it clear that she saw no connection between the unrest overnight and what she described as a “righteous uprising” after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May.
“We are waking up in shock this morning,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at the news conference. She called the actions “brazen and extensive criminal looting and destruction” that had nothing to do with the “righteous uprising” and protected free speech of protests after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May. “We are waking up in shock this morning,” Ms. Lightfoot said. “What occurred downtown and in surrounding communities was abject criminal behavior, pure and simple.”
She said the looting and shutdown came as many businesses were struggling to try to get back on their feet following coronavirus pandemic closures, and urged the community to support their fragile recovery. Still, the Chicago police superintendent said that the chaos that unfolded downtown had apparently grown out of a shooting that took place on the South Side on Sunday afternoon. “Seeds” for the widespread looting were “sown,” David Brown, the superintendent, said, after police officers and a man shot at one another in the city’s Englewood neighborhood.
Superintendent Brown said the “seeds” for the widespread looting were “sown” on Sunday afternoon, after police officers and a man shot at one another in the city’s Englewood neighborhood. Around 2:30 p.m., a 20-year-old man shot at officers, who returned fire, he said. The man, who was not identified, was “expected to survive,” he said, and no officers were hurt. Around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, officers were called to investigate reports of a man with a gun, the department said. Officers confronted a 20-year-old man in an alley, he fled and then opened fire, the department said in a statement. “Officers then discharged their firearms, striking the offender,” the statement said.
After the shooting, he said, a crowd in the neighborhood confronted officers. “Tempers flared, fueled by misinformation as the afternoon turned into evening,” he said. “That grew and grew into the late-night hours.” The man, who was not identified, was “expected to survive,” Superintendent Brown, and no officers were hurt. The department said it had opened an investigation into the shooting.
The officials said that a special team of investigators were looking through surveillance video to try to arrest more people who took part in the looting, which Mayor Lightfoot described as “straight-up felony criminal conduct.” After the shooting, a crowd in the neighborhood confronted officers, Superintendent Brown said.
Videos that were circulating on social media captured the early morning scenes of hundreds of people in the streets, dozens of police officers, looting and confrontations with the police. “Tempers flared, fueled by misinformation as the afternoon turned into evening,” he said. “That grew and grew into the late-night hours.”
Some of the videos and photos showed people entering various businesses, storefronts vandalized, windows smashed and sidewalks littered with boxes. In one widely viewed recording of the protests, police officers can be seen confronting a group of people in the street when someone hurled an object at one of the officers, striking him in the face. He and other officers then charged the people, who fled. Then the police learned of a social media post about potential looting in the downtown, miles from where the shooting had taken place. More than 400 officers were quickly dispatched to the area, where they encountered people entering various businesses, vandalizing storefronts and smashing windows. In one widely viewed recording, police officers can be seen confronting a group of people in the street when someone hurled an object at one of the officers, striking him in the face. He and other officers then charged the people, who fled.
Officials said that 13 officers were injured, including one struck with a bottle and another whose nose was broken. A security guard and a civilian were struck during the unfolding violence, Superintendent Brown said, and both were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The Chicago Transit Authority said Monday morning that at least half a dozen bus and train lines were shut down “at the request of public safety officials.” By about 8 a.m., service began to resume and the city lowered the bridges. The city has raised the bridges several times this summer, in an effort to limit access to the city’s main business and shopping district during protests against racism and police violence. By morning, the Chicago Transit Authority said that at least half a dozen bus and train lines were shut down “at the request of public safety officials.” Around 8 a.m. local time, service began to resume and the city lowered the bridges over the Chicago River. The city has raised the bridges several times this summer, in an effort to limit access to the city’s main business and shopping district during protests against racism and police violence.
Ms. Lightfoot said the looting and shutdown came as many businesses were struggling to try to get back on their feet after coronavirus-related closures, and urged the community to support their fragile recovery.
In the shooting on Sunday afternoon, officers were called to investigate reports of a man with a gun, the department said. Officers confronted the person in an alley, he fled and then opened fire, the department said in a statement. The officials said that a special team of investigators were looking through surveillance video to try to arrest more people who took part in the looting, which Ms. Lightfoot described as “straight-up felony criminal conduct.”
“Officers then discharged their firearms, striking the offender,” the statement said. Dozens of police officers remained downtown on Monday. Business owners began to pick through the damage: cash registers overturned in a pharmacy, windows broken at high-end stores, empty boxes scattered outside a jewelry store.
The department said it had opened an investigation into the shooting. Julie Bosman reported from Chicago, and Christine Hauser and Johnny Diaz from New York.