Shocking footage from a security camera in Chicago's expensive River North neighborhood (which hosts restaurants, shops and art galleries, among other businesses) explicitly reveals how bad the city's crime problem has gotten. In the video, two men can be seen being viciously kicked and beaten by a group of young men, who strip them of their shoes, empty their pockets, and - before it's all over - twerked over the victims' unconscious bodies.
According to a local Fox affiliate, the two men were attacked on State Street near Kinzie at about 0130 local time on Saturday morning.
The first victim could be seen arguing with some of the attackers before a punch was thrown, and he was quickly knocked down and beaten.
Then, the video shows the second man walking by, minding his own business when he was sucker punched and beaten to the ground.
At one point, as the victims are laying in the street, some women block traffic just a few feet away so they can twerk.
The men were stripped of virtually all their belongings, with the attackers even taking their shoes.
Businesses say the security situation in the popular Chicago neighborhood, which is teeming with nightlife, has deteriorated substantially since the start of the pandemic. The manager of a cigar shop in the area told Fox 32 that they're now forced to close before 2200 on Friday and Saturday, because the area becomes to dangerous to operate in.
A worker at a nearby Subway shop spoke to a news crew and demanded that the mayor "do something about this."
Police say they're racing to identify suspects from the video.
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." -- Thomas Jefferson