One person was taken into custody after firing shots outside Lincolnwood Town Center on Sunday evening as separate rallies in support of Israel and the Palestinian movement took place nearby, authorities said.
In a news release, the Lincolnwood Police Department said around 200 protesters supporting the Palestinian people showed up in the 3400 block of Touhy Avenue, where the Simon Wiesenthal Center was hosting a Solidarity with Israel event.
Police said several disturbances escalated outside the event, leading officers to call for assistance to help control the crowd and maintain order. During the incident, one person was confronted outside the Lincolnwood Town Center, at which time that individual presented a weapon and fired shot into the air, police said.
No one was injured, and that person was immediately taken into custody by law enforcement, police said. Additional information on what led up to shots being fired wasn't available Sunday night.
A separate incident, in which a person was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run, occurred nearby, police said.
The individual who was hit walked away from the scene and didn't require transportation to the hospital. Authorities were continuing to investigate Sunday night.
The Skokie Police Department said a Chicago police officer and two citizens sustained minor injuries after they were pepper sprayed by someone attending the protest. One person was taken into custody for dispensing pepper spray. No charges had been filed as of late Sunday.
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Another individual was taken into custody in connection with the disturbances, but was later released.
The U.S. Palestinian Community Network released a statement following the incidents, explaining, in part, that it mobilized around 500 people for peaceful protest. Following the rally, demonstrators were gathering their items and walking to their vehicles when they were attacked, explaining one man fired pepper spray into the crowd, the organization said.
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"We called for the demonstration today at the “Solidarity With Israel” rally to send a clear message that our people are facing war crimes, starvation, and unrelenting bombing by Israel that must be ended immediately; and we reject the notion that zionists should be able to gather and celebrate U.S.-backed, Israeli genocide in our community while our people are being massacred back home," the USPCN's statement read in part.
"We will continue to march in the streets and in front of legislators' offices to demand that the U.S. immediately end all aid to Israel and stop arming Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people," the statement continued.
A statement sent to NBC Chicago from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the group that organized Sunday's Israel Solidarity event, said “Last evening the Simon Wiesenthal Center organized an event in Solidarity with Israel which brought together numerous communities and faith groups. It was an incredible display of solidarity and support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The Jewish community is mourning for the victims of terrorism and we are praying for the safe release of the hostages.”
