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Was it a flash mob that forced the closure of North Avenue beach on Memorial Day? Chicago Police News Affairs released a statement saying they had to close the beach for safety reasons, as people were suffering heat exhaustion and emergency vehicles couldn't get through to help. But, WLS listeners say there was what they called a "large gangbanger element" at the Oak Street and North Avenue beaches. READ: Emanuel: Police made right call in closing beach Listeners report being at the beach, and seeing dozens of gang bangers pushing people off their bikes. Another listener says those causing havoc...

The first attack happened around 8:25 p.m. Saturday when a man was attacked after parking his motor scooter near the Northwestern University campus in Streeterville. The man had parked on the 300 block of East Chicago Avenue across the street from Wieboldt Hall when a group of 15 to 20 men, all approximately 16 to 20 years old and black, approached him, according to an alert from the university. One of them threw a baseball at the victim’s face and knocked him to the ground, the alert said. Several others from the group punched and hit him several times. The...

MYFOXNY.COM - It's like a flash mob gone bad. Security footage from a Manhattan Dunkin' Donuts shows a group of youths climbing on counters, throwing chairs and throwing tables in a violent attack on workers. It happened at the Dunkin' Donuts on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. A $2,000 hot chocolate machine was reportedly destroyed in the attack. Similar attacks have targeted other stores in the neighborhood in the previous weeks. The video shows one of the teens throwing a chair and then running up to grab a donut. A few of the attackers also grabbed drinks out of a...

CHICAGO (CBS) — The teenage robbery mobs are at it again on North Michigan Avenue. Some 50 young people barged into a Walgreens at Michigan and Chicago on the Magnificent Mile on Tuesday afternoon. They took bottled drinks and sandwiches off the shelves, then ran off, CBS 2′s Suzanne Le Mignot reports. A police report says authorities were able to nab three of the thieves. Walgreens says the store is working with police, helping investigators with video from the store security camera. The Mag Mile earlier this year was hit by similar mobs of young thieves. Attacks on commuters and...

Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy told parishoners at Saint Sabina Church earlier this month that the easy availability of guns in the United States is the extension of a tradition of "government-sponsored racism" that began with slavery and Jim Crow. McCarthy -— like many urban police officials an advocate of strict gun control -- was speaking at a liberal, activist church whose priest, Father Michael Pfleger, drew national attention for mocking Hillary Clinton in 2008. "This is sensitive. You know, because everybody’s afraid of race. Have you noticed that? Everybody’s afraid of race," McCarthy, a former New York and Newark...

"On Memorial Day weekend, there were riots in Charlotte, Rochester, Nashville, Miami, Myrtle Beach and Boston. Last Friday, fighting broke out at Brighton Beach in New York City, where five people were shot and a young girl was killed. Flash mobs have been attacking people in Chicago on the streets and on public buses. The common thread? All of the mobs were black youths — and there’s been a concerted effort by the media to ignore that reality."

A 17-year-old boy is dead following a shooting in the East Pilsen neighborhood on the South Side late Thursday night, police said. At 10:40 p.m., the teen was standing on the street in the 2000 block of South Canalport Avenue when a male driving a light-colored sport utility vehicle approached and fired shots, fatally striking the teen in his chest and back, police said. snip

June 15, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A 15-year-old boy was mugged at gunpoint and struck on the head by a group of teens near the Ogilvie Transportation Center in the West Loop on Tuesday evening. The incident happened about 6:30 p.m. near an alley at 101 N. Clinton St., according to police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli. The victim was approached by a group of seven male teens, Mirabelli said. One, who was armed with a handgun, approached the victim and demanded his money, according to police. A second teen struck the victim on the back of his head, Mirabelli...

As I've told my fellow FReepers many times, my sweetie teaches on the southside of Chicago (Englewood). Look it up. That is dangerous enough, but as recent news accounts have been shown on Drudge, etc., the flash mob "wilding" gangs are heading to the northside. The latest thing is that they have taken to carrying out their violent & intimidating plans to public transit, both bus & rail. I am asking for advice on behalf of my sweetie, who is a REFORMED LIB. Heck, we're going to Iowa at the end of July to watch The Movie. LOL

As the U.S. economy collapses, the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted is going to begin to disappear. In fact, there are already an increasing number of signs that the collapse of society is accelerating. In cities such as Chicago, roving packs of young people are "mob robbing" local businesses, randomly assaulting tourists and shoppers and are even pulling people out of vehicles. This isn't just happening in the "bad areas" anymore. Over the past couple of months this type of crime has been common in some of the wealthiest areas of Chicago. In fact, many...

Twelve homicides have occurred over the last five days and the summer crime season is still in its infancy. With a majority of schools letting out by June 17, the city can expect another wave of violence in which children are the unfortunate victims and perpetrators. Lamentably, it is a cycle that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and residents must deal with each year, even if the mayhem has abated. According to recent statistics, violent crime is down for the 29th consecutive month. However, in the current climate there is an impression that a war has erupted, and acting Superintendent...

In two separate incidents, as many as 15 teens have stormed Chicago Transit Authority buses, attacked their victims and darted off with cell phones and other electronic devices, authorities said Tuesday. Both incidents were near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, prompting city and campus authorities to issue community alerts. In the first attack, near West Roosevelt Road and South Loomis Street at about 11:40 p.m. Saturday, a victim was struck multiple times before the thieves ran off with his cell phone. About 25 minutes later, near South Racine Avenue and West 13th Street, a student said he was...

What the hell is going on over Memorial Day weekend among America's youts, specifically, "Eric Holder's People"?!IM SICK OF IT! Here in Little Rock, (which was just named No. 7 most dangerous city), I was talking to my friend yesterday, who is an LRPD officer. He asked if my wife and I were going to Riverfest that evening. I told him my son, age 9 mos. was sick, and we weren't planning to. He told me, "Good. There is a Rap artist playing at 9PM and there are not enough cops on duty so be very careful, and carry your...

It's like a flash mob gone bad. Security footage from a Manhattan Dunkin' Donuts shows a group of youths climbing on counters, throwing chairs and throwing tables in a violent attack on workers. It happened at the Dunkin' Donuts on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. A $2,000 hot chocolate machine was reportedly destroyed in the attack. Similar attacks have targeted other stores in the neighborhood in the previous weeks. The video shows one of the teens throwing a chair and then running up to grab a donut. A few of the attackers also grabbed drinks out of a refrigerator near...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― Click to enlarge 1 of 1 Photo of an apparent "flash mob" involving approximately 100 teens causing chaos inside the Center City Macy's store. CBS Related Slideshows Openly Gay Celebrities Real Or Fake? The Tattooed Ladies Of Hollywood Celebrities Turning 40 In 2010 Caught Cheating: Celebrity Scandals What's My Name? Honeymoon Lingerie: Behind-The-Scenes 2010 Celebrity Deaths Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show 2010 2010 Vancouver Winter Games Investigators say a massive snowball fight outside City Hall between 100 teens spilled into a popular department store and ended with 14 arrests. The entire ordeal began when approximately 100...

Thomas Fitzgerald never knew what hit him. One minute he was riding home from his night-shift job and stopping his bike at Broad and South Streets to watch a mob scene that appeared to be getting out of control. The next, he told a Philadelphia judge yesterday, he was waking up four days later from a medically induced coma, with his hearing impaired and his memory scrambled. Two other witnesses yesterday helped piece together Fitzgerald's lost minutes as they described how, about 11:30 p.m. May 30, the 53-year-old bicyclist was set upon by eight young males, beaten, and left unconscious...

THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS IN A BULLFIGHT . . . And it's the bull. So far, Obama's picadors and toreadors have stabbed, slashed, and otherwise compromised the bull of American capitalism. Don't kid yourself: they're going for the kill. Most of the crowd is cheering, but a few are starting to figure out that when this bull is gone, there is no more meat, ever. Moreover, a few are actually starting to worry about what it will be like to be the next "bull" when this one is gone---because there will be another bull. The unbelievably idiotic and dangerous decision...

Last month, a young man posting on a Website dubbed "The Urban Prankster Network" (Headquarters for Global Agents of Stealth Comedy!) suggested a novel way to cool off the city of Austin, Texas, when the inevitable hell of a Texas summer bakes streets and fries brains: a city-wide water gun and water balloon war waged by a "flash mob." It could happen. American "flash mobs" often involve goofy stunts -- the "digital social network" and "cell phone with text-message" age equivalent of 1950s-era collegians cramming sophomores into a phone booth (when phone booths still existed). A flash mob organizer might...

A rookie cop - the son of a highly respected New York City detective - has been stripped of his badge and gun after being caught on video viciously attacking a bicyclist who was part of a Times Square demonstration. ' The startling YouTube video shows Officer Patrick Pogan, 22, apparently setting his sights on - and then tackling - a bicyclist as he pedaled along Seventh Avenue as part of last Friday's controversial Critical Mass ride. Christopher Long, 29, was among a throng of riders as he whizzed toward the corner of West 46th Street at 9:30 p.m. and...

Denver—With a recent move to relegate peaceful protestors beneath the Denver homeless population, Re-create 68 has now vowed that there will indeed be “a bloodbath” at the Democratic National Convention should they try to keep them fenced in. The American Civil Liberties Union and several advocacy groups have filed an amended complaint to their lawsuit, stating that their First Amendment rights have been violated by security restrictions. “What the hell do they think we are? Barnyard animals,” asked Tom Mestnik, a member of The Re-create ’68 Alliance, an umbrella group organizing the protesters. “They’re giving the homeless a free pass...