No charges for man who fired shot at dueling Mideast rallies in Chicago suburbs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man accused of firing a gun into the air during dueling rallies for Israel and the Palestinian territories in the northern suburbs won't face criminal charges, police said Monday.
The event in support of Israel, organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, took place inside Ateres Ayala in Skokie, while a pro-Palestinian rally took place outside. Lincolnwood Police say about 200 people showed up to the outdoor event.
They said the ultimate goal of the pro-Israel event was to encourage a peaceful coexistence when it comes to multiple faith-based groups.
"As people of faith, we all preach a message, and hopefully we preach a message of peace, and we need to encourage peaceful coexistence regardless of what our religious background is," said Justin Kron with Hope In The Holy Lands. "We live in a country where there is supposed to be plurality of beliefs and that we're united together, especially in times of pain and suffering and tragedy. So that's why we are here tonight."
Those outside supporting the Palestinian cause also spoke about the reason for their protest.
"The reason why we decided to come here today is in response to the rally in there," said Harem Abudayyeh, national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. "But we're here to say that the folks over there, the zionist organizations that are running that rally, if in this day in age, right now, today in history, if you're doing a rally in support of Israel, essentially you're doing a rally in support of war crimes, in support of genocide, in support of the killing of Palestinian people."
Skokie Police were at the event to make sure the dueling rallies remained peaceful.
Lincolnwood Police said, during the event, multiple people "confronted" a person in the Lincolnwood Town Center mall across the street from the event. That person then pulled out a firearm and shot it into the air. No one was injured.
The person who fired the weapon was immediately taken into custody, but Monday afternoon police said Cook County prosecutors declined to file felony charges. Police said the 39-year-old man lives in Chicago and has a valid concealed carry license. He has been released from custody.
In a separate skirmish, a Chicago Police officer and two protesters sustained minor injuries after being pepper sprayed. That resulted in a second arrest.
"Immediately, I ran to the police officer and I told them we all just got pepper sprayed," said one demonstrator. "'Is anything going to happen?'"
Multiple Palestinian demonstrators told CBS 2 they questioned how Skokie police handled the situation.
"They were facing us, the police officers, and not really paying attention at what was coming at us and that was bothersome because we're over here and you're allowing these people to antagonize us," said Reem Townsend, who also attended the rally.
Gill Vaknin, an Israel supporter, claimed when he and others were attacked by Palestinian supporters, officers also did little to react.
"Nobody when after the people that assaulted us," he said. "I feel like almost unsafe to be a proud Jew. I feel like I can't rely on police to protect me."
Both side agreed police didn't move in until a man pulled out a gun and fired, but new video showed what happened before the gun was pulled. The man was seen getting out of his car and chasing a woman. When pro-Palestinian demonstrators noticed, they surrounded him. That's when the man pulled out his gun, that he was licensed to carry, and fired. Police were then seen with their guns drawn.
The man will not face charges.
"If both sides aren't happy with the performance of the police department perhaps ...they were trying to walk that fine, neutral line on de-escalating a situation," said security expert Matt Doherty.
Doherty, who is also a former secret service agent, pointed out what police did not do well: keeping the two sides separated.
Police say in a separate incident, a person was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run. That person was released from the scene and not transported for medical care.
That incident is also under investigation by Lincolnwood Police.