Chicago Sees New Level of Crime and Violence

by · Published · Updated

Early Monday, August 10th, Don Babwin of the Associated Press reports that the city of Chicago hit a new level of crime, resulting in more than 100 arrests.  Shortly after midnight, the city suffered looting and unrest that damaged its Magnificent Mile district and left 13 officers injured.

Police Superintendent David Brown clarified that it was “not an organized protest,” but instead an “incident of pure criminality” that had begun shortly after a police officer shot an individual on Sunday in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.  The rioting was triggered by a police response Sunday afternoon to a call reporting a person with a gun.  When officers identified the suspect and attempted to confront him, he fled on foot, shooting at them as he ran away.  Officers returned fire, wounding him and recovering the gun.   Brown noted that shortly after midnight, while monitoring social media following the incident, he came “across a post of a caravan of cars being  prompted to go to our downtown and loot”.

Along the Magnificent Mile, looters were seen coming in and out of stores, carrying shopping bags full of merchandise. All through the downtown area lay now-empty cash drawers from stores and gutted ATMS. As the crowds grew, vehicles dropped off more people in the area.  Stores miles away were also ransacked with parking lots left littered with glass and items from inside the stores, along with clothes hangers and empty electronics boxes.  At one point early Monday, shots were fired at the police, who returned fire.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfood labeled the incident as “straight up, felony criminal conduct. This was an assault on our city.” Those arrested face charges of looting, disorderly conduct, and battery against the police.  But as New Your Post writer Jorge Fitz-Gibbon reports, Black Lives Matter organizer Ariel Adams defended the looting, “I don’t care if somebody decides to loot a Gucci’s or a Macy’s or a Nike because that makes sure that that person eats. That makes sure that that person has clothes.” “That’s a reparation,” Atkins said. “Anything they want to take, take it because these businesses have insurance.”