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Kids trembled in fear as Chicago looters attacked Ronald McDonald House near hospital and shattered its doors

The facility said over 30 families along with some sick kids were inside when it was targeted

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: The doors of Chicago’s Ronald McDonald House were smashed during the looting on Monday night, August 10, as families and sick children trembled in fear inside the facility. Ronald McDonald House Charities is a non-profit organization that supports “families around the world and help them access the medical care and resources they need”.

The facility, which is close to Lurie Children's Hospital, said over 30 families along with some sick kids were inside when it was targeted. “We were very concerned there was a lot of activity right in front of the house, people making choices that could put them at risk and put our families at risk so the staff was frightened,” Lisa Mitchell of Ronald McDonald House Charities told ABC7.

Mitchell added: “They are already in a really, really difficult spot, and having this kind of additional stress and worry about getting to and from the hospital even though we are 5 blocks away because of safety concerns is just doubling the strain.”

According to a Daily Mail report, however, apart from front doors, nothing was damaged during the attack. Also, no one inside the facility suffered any injury or was hurt. Meanwhile, the doors were boarded up to protect it from any future attack. Police are now searching for people who were responsible for the ambush. CBS Chicago reported that people staying at the facility were put under lockdown while the ruckus was happening right outside. “We’re here for families at all times – whether there’s a pandemic or civil unrest, we need to make sure that we are here allowing families to get the rest they need while they have a child in the hospital seeking care, and so it’s so important that anything that might be going on outside, we maintain our care for families,” Mitchell said. It has also been reported that the organization did not miss any appointments or treatments due to the disturbance.

The riots and looting started in the city as a result of misinformation that officers had shot a child, Police Superintendent David Brown said during a press briefing. According to reports, the chaos started around 2.30 pm on Sunday, August 9, when police were called on a man with a gun in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. When officers arrived, they found a man similar to the description walking east on 57th Street and Racine Avenue. However, when they tried to stop him, the man later identified as Latrell Allen ran away leading to a foot chase by cops. They claimed that Allen fired at them first after which two officers returned fire.

The 20-year-old Black man was later transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center and has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon, authorities said. Slamming the looters, Brown said: “This was not an organized protest. Rather, this was an incident of pure criminality. This was an act of violence against our police officers and against our city.”