Police Block Off Streets Downtown, As Officers Try To Control Large Gatherings And Keep The Peace
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tensions ran high Saturday night after large crowds descended on the Loop, and a large police presence worked to clear the streets.
CBS 2's Jeremy Ross reports police officers began working around 7 p.m. to clear large crowds of teens and young adults from parts of downtown. Police were doing what they could to deescalate tensions.
"Just craziness, and then you had a lot of officers around here," Starlesha Hooker said.
Parts of the Loop were blocked off by squad cars, the blaring sounds of sirens and blur of Chicago Police lights once again flooding shopping areas, as Hooker was trying to visit Macy's and see the Christmas Tree at nearby Millennium Park at the time.
"There was a fight that broke out, and there was maybe about 400 kids that kind of ran towards the fight, and we just kind of got out the way so we wouldn't be stumbled over," she said. "Personally, it's a little startling."
Large groups and a fight were captured on video shared on the Citizen app; some participating in the violence, others simply watching.
Police at times dispersed crowds gathered downtown. This comes about four months after businesses in the downtown area were the victims of mass looting and chaotic vandalism.
As for what was driving this winter assembly, Hooker said, "I'm guessing they don't have anything better to do but to be in crowds and kind of yell about each other, yell amongst each other."
It also happens amid a resurgence of the pandemic in Chicago, with officials repeatedly urging people to stay home as much as possible, and avoid large gatherings.
"You don't know what to expect. You see a group of kids and you're hoping that they make the right choices. That's all you can do," Hooker said.
There were no reports by police of any widespread crime or widespread vandalism. Police and business owners hoped that continued to be the case throughout the night.
