Another Chicago suburb has issued a statement after a malfunction during a Fourth of July fireworks show, marking the third time during the extended holiday weekend that a suburb's July 4 fireworks show was cut short.
In a statement, the City of Crystal Lake said a "significant event" occurred shortly after the July 7 show began, resulting in an "immediate shut down" of the display.
"Unfortunately, approximately seven minutes into the show, a significant event occurred on the platform causing a shell to detonate in the launch tube severely affecting the show’s ability to continue as planned," the statement said.
The statement went on to say that technicians from the American Fireworks Company, the show's fireworks vendor, moved to intermittently launch fireworks in an effort to "render the platform safe for docking on shore."
No injuries were reported, the statement added.
The statement comes days after an Independence Day fireworks celebration in suburban Wheaton ended early due to an unspecified malfunction.
Lansing, in Cook County, also saw their annual Fourth of July fireworks show canceled after residents reported a "huge surge" of people in a chaotic scene after many waited hours just to see the popular event.
Local
"The Lan-Oak Park District did not cancel the event and shares the disappointment of the community, "the district told NBC Chicago in a statement." The park district is very proud of the safe and enjoyable Independence Day events that the park district has sponsored for decades. We thank the Lansing community for the support they have always shown the park district."
While authorities did not confirm the reasoning behind the cancellation, it comes after videos and photos showed a chaotic scene involving a large number of teens, many of whom were seen breaching a security fence at the event.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
"It got packed and all of a sudden we started hearing kids screaming, kids running, cops coming in with lights and stuff. It just got really out of hand," said resident Elizabeth Lopez, who has lived in the suburb for eight years.
Cell phone video from the scene showed crowds spilling into streets and a nearby Walmart parking lot as the event was abruptly canceled.
"[People] were coming from both directions, but it was a huge surge of people, it was a huge surge," said homeowner Auriga Cohran. "They said it was kids, but I kind of understand it because they weren’t letting the kids in."
The incident comes amid new safety policies put in place for this year's event.
According to an announcement about the holiday festivities, no children under the age of 18 were allowed in without a parent or guardian and IDs were required at the entrance. Also new this year were metal detectors.
"They weren't allowing kids in under the age of 18 without a parent or a guardian which I kind of understand and I kind of don’t because in the past the whole town showed up for the fireworks and a lot of those were kids unescorted and we never had any problems before," Cohran said. "So I don’t know why we had the metal detectors in this big security situation this year."
Cohran noted that some people had lined up more than three hours before the fireworks were set to begin to secure their place.
"It was a disappointing night for everybody because we had a lot of people out here and a lot of people waited a long time to get through that line, just to cancel it for everybody," she said. "It was ridiculous. It was horrible."
