Photo shows aftermath of looting in Goose Island neighborhood of Chicago, roughly a 10-minute drive from the Magnificent Mile.
The police superintendent in Chicago, Illinois said overnight looting at the city’s Magnificent Mile shopping district and more followed a shooting that happened Sunday.
UPDATE: Mayor Lightfoot joins CPD Superintendent Brown to provide update on overnight criminal activity. https://t.co/snFh5haaCZ
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) August 10, 2020
“We are coming for you!” – @chicagosmayor @LoriLightfoot to looters who ransacked stores downtown and along the Magnificent Mile in #Chicago overnight. @WBBMNewsradio pic.twitter.com/taugT9yq0b
— Bernie Tafoya (@BernieTafoya) August 10, 2020
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), amid widespread criticism, called this “straight up, felony criminal conduct.”
“This was an assault on our city,” she said on Monday.
Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters in a press conference on Monday that the looting was prefaced by an officer-involved shooting in the Englewood neighborhood on Sunday. As previously reported, a man allegedly had a gun, and fled officers. He allegedly turned toward cops and opened fire. The authorities shot back. The suspect survived, but the incident left neighborhood tensions running high.
“Very hostile,” CPD Deputy Chief Yolanda Talley said, according to NBC Chicago. “Emotions were running high. They were responding to misinformation.”
Brown on Monday said CPD were aware of social media posts encouraging looting downtown. 400 officers were dispatched to scene. 13 cops were injured, including one who sustained a broken nose fighting with a group of looters, he said. He said this was not an organized protest, but an “incident of pure criminality.”
Multiple videos showed the crimes and destruction:
The destruction was not limited to the Magnificent Mile (see: video out of the Goose Island neighborhood):
Police are reviewing footage from last night, he said. There will remain heavy police presence throughout the downtown area, with officers set to 12-hour shifts, and days off canceled.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Chicago looting: “I don’t care, I do not care, whatever justification was given for this. There is no justification for criminal behavior, ever. You have no right to take and destroy the property of others. Our residents deserve to be safe.”
— Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) August 10, 2020
[Screengrab via CBS Chicago]
