Chicago Looting Leads To More Than 100 Arrests, Dozens Of Damaged Businesses

Hundreds of individuals who participated in widespread looting and vandalism across downtown Chicago early Monday engaged in abject criminal behavior and were not part of an organized protest, the citys mayor said.

Dozens of stores, banks and other businesses were broken into and burglarized. More than 100 people were arrested and at least 13 officers were injured, according to police. The unrest followed an officer-involved shooting on Sunday.

Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot described the overnight chaos as an assault on our city, and called on state prosecutors to hold those involved accountable.

This had nothing to do with legitimate, protected First Amendment expression, Lightfoot said during a news conference Monday morning. What occurred in our downtown and surrounding communities was abject criminal behavior, pure and simple.

These were not poor people engaged in petty theft to feed themselves and their families, she added. This was straight-up felony criminal conduct.

UPDATE: Mayor Lightfoot joins CPD Superintendent Brown to provide update on overnight criminal activity. https://t.co/84k7ybMJuY

Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) August 10, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Mayor Lori Lightfoot","author_url":"https://twitter.com/chicagosmayor","cache_age":86400,"description":"UPDATE: Mayor Lightfoot joins CPD Superintendent Brown to provide update on overnight criminal activity. https://t.co/84k7ybMJuY Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) August 10, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/chicagosmayor/status/1292808127541202944","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5f314858c5b64d7a55f63a4a","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/downtown-chicago-looting-mayor_n_5f314858c5b64d7a55f63a4a","entryTagsList":"chicago,lori-lightfoot,politics","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news,black-voices,crime","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":8},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5f314858c5b64d7a55f63a4a","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"chicago","slug":"chicago","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/chicago","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/chicago","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/chicago"},"relegenceId":3450107,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Chicago","slug":"chicago","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/chicago"},{"name":"Lori Lightfoot","slug":"lori-lightfoot","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/lori-lightfoot","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/lori-lightfoot","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/lori-lightfoot"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/lori-lightfoot"},{"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics"},"relegenceSubjectId":982065,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics News","slug":"politics-news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-news"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

UPDATE: Mayor Lightfoot joins CPD Superintendent Brown to provide update on overnight criminal activity. https://t.co/84k7ybMJuY
Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) August 10, 2020

Looting in Chicagos Magnificent Mile shopping district and other areas of the citys downtown area began around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, police said.

Video captured by local reporters and bystanders showed people breaking windows to enter and burglarize various stores, including a Nordstrom, Best Buy, Pandora and 7-Eleven. Some individuals who participated in the looting could be seen piling into cars with stolen goods and fleeing the scene.

Photos of the vandalism showed anti-police graffiti in some areas.

Authorities believe the looting may be connected to an officer-involved shooting that occurred in the citys Englewood neighborhood on Sunday afternoon, Chicago Police Superintendent Dan Brown said during the news conference Monday.

Officers had responded to a report of a man with a gun, Brown said. The suspect, a 20-year-old man, allegedly fled the scene when officers approached him. The suspect allegedly fired a gun at the officers as he was running away, and police returned fire and struck him. The suspect was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive his injuries, Brown said.

The shooting wasnt captured on police body cameras, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department told reporters Sunday afternoon.

Earl Allen, the brother of the suspect, has disputed the polices account of the altercation. Allen told The Chicago Sun-Times that he and his brother had been walking with a group of people when one of the individuals made a comment to officers in a police vehicle, prompting a pursuit.

Police released a photo of the gun they allegedly obtained from the suspect, but Allen denied that it belonged to his brother.

Following the shooting, there was a very intense interaction between police at the scene and a crowd that had gathered nearby, Brown said Monday.

Social media posts shared in the wake of the shooting encouraged people to loot downtown later that night, Brown said. Police dispatched about 400 officers to the areas expected to be targeted.