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| Police clear a group out of the plaza between the Apple Store and North/Clybourn Red Line station. | SnapChat |
A police source said school leadership contacted the 18th (Near North) Police District around 12:15 p.m. to report that they were expecting fights to break out when school was dismissed for the day. Extra officers were sent to establish a presence at the school, 1443 North Ogden Avenue.
Around 1:15 p.m., patrol officers reported large groups of students in the streets, building courtyards, and sidewalks with widespread fights breaking out along Halsted, Clybourn and North Avenue.
The reason for the disruptions was not immediately known.
Officers on-scene reported “kids fighting all over the place” and the sound of a large crowd screaming could be heard in the background on police radio transmissions from the scene.
A Chicago police spokesperson said officers responded to “a massive crowd.” When officers tried to break up one fight, a 14-year-old girl struck an officer in the head and lip. Another 14-year-old girl pushed an officer and resisted arrest while police were trying to handcuff her, police said.
Both 14-year-old girls were taken into custody. The officers were in good condition, the spokesperson said.
Police began pushing the crowd into the Red Line station at North/Clybourn and most of the hotspots had been quelled by 2:45 p.m., police said. No student injuries were immediately reported. One victim was treated by an ambulance crew after being pepper-sprayed by one of the students.
CICS ChicagoQuest did not respond to a late evening request for comment.
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