Chicago | Looting and clashes with police broke out in Chicago overnight Sunday, injuring 13 officers and leading to the arrest of more than 100 people, authorities said Monday.
Police responded to a report of a gunman on Sunday afternoon, chief David Brown said Monday morning. After exchanges of fire, a crowd formed and tension mounted, fueled by several “publications on social networks encouraging looting,” he detailed at a press conference.
A total of 400 officers have been deployed to the city center, and police have made more than 100 arrests, he said. Many stores had their windows smashed Monday morning.
“We wake up in shock this morning,” said the city’s Democratic mayor, Lori Lightfoot, denouncing “abject, and outright criminal” behavior.
“These individuals participated in what can only be qualified as vast and shameful destruction and looting,” she added, calling on the population to provide any information allowing the investigation of these events to advance.
Some 13 police officers were injured in the events, said David Brown. In the past seven days, nine officers have been shot, he lamented.
A reinforced presence of the police will be maintained in the city center until further notice, he added.
