Store Owner: Little Village Commercial Strip Under Siege
(CBS) -- In one pocket of Little Village's "Mag Mile," businesses are being bullied.
"Seeing all these problems it's scary," store owner Gabriel Guzman tells CBS 2's Brad Edwards. "We wonder if it's worth it."
Guzman has run his family store "Giovanni's" for decades.
"To me, this is something new," Guzman says. "It's never been like this before."
Surveillance video over the past several weeks shows a patron being assaulted, one disallowed from leaving and Guzman being pushed when he confronts the group.
"Someone is going to retaliate," Guzman says. "Maybe with a weapon, you know, shoot these young punks."
"We need more police deployed on 26th Street, like on Michigan Avenue," community activist Raul Montes says. "This is the second Magnificent Mile."
They've filed a number of police reports and Chicago Police have made arrests. But still, the menacing group hovers.
"People don't want to come back again when they see this type of violence," says Guzman, who hopes police will back him up.
Police say they are aware of what's been going on.
"We are aware of the incidents and while crime is down significantly in the 10th district, there is more work to be done," Chicago Police Department spokesman Adam Collins tells CBS 2.
