Looters in Chicago Ransack and Vandalize Stores After Shooting Incident

Latrell Allen, 20, was charged with attempted murder Monday for allegedly firing on officers, according to Chicago police.

Officers returned fire, wounding the man, who was taken to a hospital for treatment. He was expected to recover.

Brown said the man had a long criminal history, including arrests for domestic battery and child endangerment. A gun was recovered at the scene, he said.

Witnesses to the unrest described a scene that bore a striking resemblance to the unrest that unfolded when protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis devolved into chaos.

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Brown suggested that the lenient treatment of people arrested then played a role in what happened Monday.

“Not many of those cases were prosecuted to the full extent,” he said. “These looters, these thieves, these criminals being emboldened by (the lack of) consequences ... emboldened to do more.”

At the same news conference, Lightfoot addressed looters directly, telling them that police had collected a lot of surveillance video and other evidence that will be used to arrest and prosecute as many as possible.

“We saw you, and we will come after you,” she warned.

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx disputed any suggestion that her office had shied away from prosecuting people who were arrested for ransacking businesses weeks ago. She said none of those cases had been dropped.

“That is simply not true,” she said. “Those cases are coming to court now.”

Videos of the vandalism showed huge crowds of people smashing their way into businesses and streaming out of the broken windows and doors with clothes and other merchandise.

They loaded up vehicles, some moving slowly and deliberately, apparently not worried about being caught by police or being recorded by scores of cellphone cameras.

Vehicles drove away slowly, some leaving behind boxes of rocks that they had apparently brought to shatter the windows.

Cash register drawers and clothes hangers were strewn about the streets, along with automatic teller machines that had been ripped from walls or pulled from inside businesses.