Violence marred the Streeterville neighborhood on Friday night as a 15-year-old boy suffered a graze wound in a shooting incident amidst the upheaval caused by large groups of teenagers. According to ABC7 Chicago, Chicago Police were on patrol when they encountered the youth on the ground after 9:40 p.m. at the 400 block of North City Front Plaza Drive. Soon after, he was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital, where he was reported to be in good condition.
As chaos erupted with the large congregation of teens, 14 arrests were made by the Chicago Police Department, with another six juveniles apprehended for curfew violations. Video captured the commotion showing the adolescents obstructing traffic and engaging in physical altercations on the streets. "These were teenagers punching and striking police officers," Ald. Brian Hopkins was quoted in a statement to WGN-TV.
The unrest comes on the heels of recent talks regarding safety and gun violence following an incident earlier in the month where a Connecticut tourist was shot near the AMC theater in the same neighborhood. This strife has propelled Hopkins to push for a legislative change, proposing an 8 p.m. curfew for unsupervised minors in the Central Business District, as reported by ABC7 Chicago.
Residents expressed their distress and the stirring impact of the events on the community. Lukasz Dusza, having called the area home for six years, voiced his apprehension to WGN-TV. "I am shocked, and I think a lot of people are, given that these things are happening in March, and generally these things happen in the summer months," he said.
