An attempt by police to break up a gathering of thousands of people in a Cook County Forest Preserve near Schiller Park on Sunday afternoon resulted in at least a dozen arrests and injuries to both police officers and participants.
Authorities said that as the crowd got out of control on the Northwest Side and in neighboring suburbs, they shut down streets clogged with participants and called in extra units from 15 law enforcement departments. The melee peaked as some 150 police officers faced a shower of bottles from a portion of the crowd at a Melrose Park shopping center, officials said.
One man was treated for a gunshot wound to his arm in the Forest Preserve, and a woman was sexually assaulted at the shopping center, police said.
Organizers of the event said in their permit application that 2,000 people were expected at the gathering in Schiller Woods, called “Freaknic,” according to Steve Mayberry, a spokesman for the Forest Preserve District. Instead, 8,000 to 12,000 people showed up, prompting police to shut down the event at about 4 p.m., he said.
At that point, according to authorities, the gathering got out of control as participants took to neighboring streets. Order was restored by about 8 p.m.
“The impression I got was it was just too many people in the same place at the same time,” said Cook County sheriff’s police spokesman Bill Cunningham.
Sunday’s event was patterned after a celebration of black college students held each spring in Atlanta, participants said. It was the second one held in Chicago.
Among the injured were two Chicago police officers who were taken to Resurrection Medical Center for minor injuries. Forest Preserve Supt. Joseph Nevius said the man shot in the arm was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, where he was listed in good condition.
“It was just going crazy,” said Michael Lawrence, 20, who was at the event Sunday. “(Picnic-goers) were pulling girls’ clothes off. They were fighting.”
Michael Jones, who was also at the event, said that after a fight broke out between participants and police, additional officers were called in. A phalanx of officers in helmets and riot gear marched down Irving Park Road dispersing the crowd.
As the crowd spilled onto side streets, residents became alarmed.
“We were terrified,” said one woman who lives near Oriole Avenue and Addison Street. She said she was so frightened by the scene, she took her two toddlers and hid in the basement.
While the incident began in the forest preserve, police and witnesses reported the problem spread.
“We were dodging bottles,” said Melrose Park Police Officer Sal Paletta, pointing down to the broken glass in the parking lot of the Melrose Place Shopping Center at 1st and North Avenues in Melrose Park.
According to Forest Preserve Police Chief Steve Castans, a woman also was sexually assaulted at the shopping center.
Castans said 4,000 people came to the parking lot of the shopping center. As a precaution, police ordered the managers of the Denny’s and McDonald’s restaurants in the center to close early.
“We were scared for our lives,” said Jackie McDonald, the manager of the Denny’s. “We had to lock our doors.”
McDonald said police appeared ill-prepared to deal with the crowds.
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“They had posters up for two months advertising this, why weren’t they better prepared?” asked McDonald.
But Castans said police had taken every precaution: The Forest Preserve District denied the group’s request for permits to allow beer sales and for loudspeakers. “We kept a lid on things,” he said.
In addition to forest preserve police, officers from several departments, including Chicago, Schiller Park, Melrose Park, Elmwood Park and the Illinois State Police were called to the scene in an attempt to restore order. Those people arrested were charged with minor violations, according to Chicago police.
Cook County officials said Sunday evening the group that applied for the permit, Landau Productions, had received a permit for a similar event last year. That gathering also attracted thousands of people, though it ended with few serious incidents.