At least two arrests were reported Monday night in the Lakeview neighborhood after a “teen takeover” took place, with residents recalling the mayhem that occurred.
Police and witnesses say that many of the individuals involved in the incident jumped off CTA Red Line trains at the Belmont stop, and soon began blocking traffic and jumping on top of cars.
“It’s really Pride Part Two,” one participant told Captured News. “We need more than one day for this.”
While violence was at a minimum or nonexistent in most cases, there was plenty of traffic disruption and even damage to property.
Comedian Dominic Rescigno had just finished a show at Annoyance Theater when he tried to get to his parked car in the 900 block of Belmont Avenue.
“I see a riot happening down the street, surrounded by cops that are watching,” he said. “I went up to one of the cops and said ‘my car’s in there’ and he said ‘you’re bleeped,’ and I was.”
He said he couldn’t see his car, but he feared the worst.
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“I could see that people were jumping on cars. I couldn’t see my car, but I knew,” he said. “This morning, we walked down at 6:30 a.m., and it was totally destroyed.”
Rescigno said he and his partner bought the car as a Christmas gift to each other. Now, it’s in a shop, with an estimated repair bill of $15,000.
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“Everyone’s like ‘you have to call insurance.’ We did, and they’re like ‘you don’t have the package that covers mob insurance,’” he recalled with a sigh. “I thought (it was a joke). I didn’t realize I needed to check the ‘mob’ box.”
Chicago police say they were stymied in their efforts to stop the flow of teens to the Belmont stop by CTA officials, who declined to run trains on bypass through the area.
Officers were also asked to respond to other calls in the area, but were unable to.
“We can’t answer now. We’re way outnumbered here,” one officer said on radio.
Police officials say that they “work closely” with partners, and that they “appreciate their continued partnership and support” in trying to respond to such events.
For now, Rescigno and other neighbors are left to wonder what went wrong on Monday night.
“It would be nice to live in a world where I could encourage a cop to help me,” he said.
Chicago Ald. Bennett Lawson says at least two arrests were made, and police were able to disperse the crowds by approximately 3 a.m.
