Unruly teenage crowds in downtown Chicago attacked and robbed a young couple last weekend — who called the unprovoked assault “very random” — as more than 100 teenagers rioted throughout the Windy City.
The “Teen Takeover” produced several online videos showing young Chicagoans jumping on cars and buses, setting fires, and engaging in disruptive conduct over the past few days. The police, by their own admission, were simply too overwhelmed to stop the chaos.
One of those videos showed a mob of minors pushing Ashley Knutson, 20, to the ground, jumping her partner Devontae “DJ” Johnson, 22, in the middle of the street, and stealing belongings from the couple, including their shoes, phones, a pair of glasses, an Apple Watch, and a hat, Fox News reported.
“It was very random because all we were doing [is] we had just left Nordstrom, and we were looking for somewhere to eat, and we saw that group, and they just thought they were tough, and they wouldn’t move out the way, just out there being stupid, young and dumb, trying to prove a point for nothing,” DJ told the news outlet while recovering from shoulder and back injuries and a black eye. “That’s how that happened.”
Ashley and DJ told the outlet that the mob threatened them, saying, “they were going to kill us.”
Ashley added that she witnessed local police drive past her and DJ during the altercation.
“They almost had to avoid the collision to get past us, but they just drove by the incident in the middle of the street,” she said.
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Lori Lightfoot said the violence frenzied teens who we’re destroying Chicago, and decided to attack a young couple walking out of Nordstroms, were just downtown enjoying the city. pic.twitter.com/N1o04rjC61
— 𝔹𝕦𝕕… (@bud_cann) April 19, 2023
Former Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson told an ABC affiliate that authorities involved in dealing with downtown disturbances want to enforce the law, but refrain from doing so out of fear of getting reprimanded by their superiors or losing their jobs altogether.
“What I’m hearing from cops is that you know these young folks are taunting them, ha, ha, ha, you can’t chase me, you can’t do this,” Johnson said, adding that new policies make them feel like their hands are tied.
“Damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” Johnson said.
Illinois State Senator Robert Peters, who represents pockets of Chicago, defended the teen mob in a tweet, claiming the behavior seen by the teenagers taking over areas of the city as a “political act and statement.”
“It’s a mass protest against poverty and segregation,” Peters said.
Since I’m a glutton for punishment and I’m sure I’m gonna get the most unhinged, crime weirdo replies but:
I would look at the behavior of young people as a political act and statement. It’s a mass protest against poverty and segregation.
Rest in peace to my mentions.
— Robert Peters (@RobertJPeters) April 16, 2023
The incident marked one of many chaotic scenes that unfolded in Chicago last weekend. Other videos showed dozens of teenagers jumping on a bus and smashing its windows while another massive brawl at Millennium Park broke out that left two teenagers shot and 15 others arrested.
Outgoing Chicago Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot condemned local media for calling the scenes “mayhem,” claiming the mass majority of those involved in the chaos were downtown due to “great weather” and “an opportunity to enjoy the city,” the Daily Mail reported.
“That’s absolutely, entirely appropriate. … There are a few that came with different intentions,” she said. “They have, and they will be dealt with. But I’m not going to use your language, which I think is wrong, to say there’s ‘mayhem.’”
Chicago’s Democratic Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson said on Sunday that he does not “condone the destructive activity,” stating such lawlessness is “unacceptable and has no place” in the Windy City, according to the Daily Mail.
However, Johnson also argued that the destruction should not serve as an excuse to demonize the teenagers involved.
“It is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities,” he said. “Our city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors.”