Hundreds of teenagers shut down a Chicago street Monday night as they gathered in the middle of the road for hours, dancing on parked cars and alarming local residents.
Around 9:00 p.m. a group of teens got off the Chicago L train in the Lakeview neighborhood, which is home to Wrigley Field, and shut down a main street for six hours, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. One resident told WGN that she called 911 but was told “there was nothing they could do.”
“They were so overwhelmed at the moment that there were just way too many calls coming in,” the woman said.
Police who initially arrived on the scene were vastly outnumbered by the teens. The group started with a few dozen teens but eventually grew to more than 300 as word spread through social media, the Sun-Times reported.
Roddy Hashish, the owner of a restaurant right next to the train station where the teens got off, told WGN, “There was no celebration last night; it was just pure chaos.”
“Right away we decided to close the store and the restaurant, and we stayed all night watching to make sure nobody broke in or nobody vandalized our business,” Hashish said.
Chicago police officers eventually controlled the crowd and moved the teenagers out of the area, but not before the group dented hoods and broke the windshields of cars that were parked on the street. Police took two people into custody as they dispersed the crowd. A 15-year-old girl was charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, according to police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli. A 50-year-old man was also charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, the Sun-Times reported.
“It’s terrifying,” said Grace Rohen, telling WGN that she also heard gunshots during the teen takeover. “It has been very chaotic and as somebody who’s lived in Lakeview for the past three years, it’s very scary to see how things have changed over time.”
Alderman Bennett Lawson released a statement Tuesday, promising to meet with leaders to discuss how these “disruptive actions” can be prevented in the future.
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“I will be meeting with the 19th district police, cta, and others to discuss what took place and identify ways we can prevent it from occurring moving forward as well as continue conversations with my colleagues on city council about how we can keep our youth from participating in these disruptive actions,” Lawson said.
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