Tensions high in Chicago after outbreak of violence

In Chicago, tensions continue to boil over, even as police arrested a suspect in a shooting that grazed a 5-year-old girl and injured a 15-year-old.

As officers attempted to arrest the man Tuesday night, crowds gathered around and started throwing glass bottles. It is the latest incident as the city deals with a spike in violence.

The state is in the midst of a stay-at-home order, yet the city had a very violent holiday weekend and since then, activists have been calling out Chicago police.

“This is going to be a challenge this summer, there's no doubt. I mean, on top of the existent amount of crime, there's now, you know.. people are unemployed,” Governor JB Pritzker said Wednesday.

Most people have been stuck indoors for more than two months and the tension on the streets is palpable.

On Tuesday, protesters in Chicago called for an end to police brutality after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“Being black in America cannot be a death sentence, but it is in some ways it is,” Pritzker said.

The governor says we have not really dealt with racism in our country.

“As a white elected official, I feel a special responsibility to speak out today. And to own the obligation that I have to shape public policy in a more equitable direction,” he said.

Marlon Watson says equity, even during a pandemic, is hard to come by in Chicago.

“Social distancing in Chicago seems to be racist,” Watson said.

He says there was a difference in response by police breaking up crowds on Memorial Day.

“Black citizens are harassed, brutalized and arrested for breaking social distancing rules. White citizens in Millennium Park were allowed to meet and we didn’t see the same response from the Chicago Police Department,” Watson said.

Chicago police say they strive to ensure any enforcement of the statewide stay-at-home order is universal regardless of neighborhood, community or district.