Chicago, IL — Hundreds of teenagers swarmed the Magnificent Mile upscale retail shopping district and scuffled among themselves and attacked innocent pedestrians last night.
About 30 teens have been arrested so far for misdemeanor reckless conduct in the chaos. “Saturday night’s incidents were described by police as ‘wildings,’ where large groups of teens swarm the downtown area and cause an array of disturbances.” Police were deployed to the Michigan Avenue area about 8 pm to respond to what is being described as mob action.
Lots of shoppers, including tourists, were out and about last night, which was one of the warmest evening’s of the year in the city which has been facing an unprecedented crime wave , primarily driven by gang violence. According to police officers on the scene , this is how it went down: “Police said the suspects intentionally bumped into other people on the sidewalks, and fought amongst themselves.”
The roving teenagers acting out in the Michigan Avenue/Gold Coast area reportedly also assaulted a Chicago mounted police officer as well as passengers riding mass transit.
Chicago community activist Andrew Holmes witnessed some of the violence and had this to say:
“I caution those parents if their child has been arrested which numerous teenagers have been arrested tonight, that you need to think about your child. Just don’t say the Chicago police picked on your child, when we were watching all the assault going on, especially by teen women.”
Police are also investigating whether there is any connection between last night’s Magnificent Mile violence and the brawl that occurred last month at the Ford City Mall after an appearance by the “Mindless Behavior” boy band.
There is also speculation that last night’s teen violence may have been coordinated over social media.
[Top image credit: TonyTheTiger ]
Watch the coverage of last night’s Chicago teen violence from local news media:
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