Confusion erupted on the Northwest Side Friday after a masked federal agent dropped canisters of chemical irritants into the street outside a supermarket.
The incident happened at Rico Fresh Market, 3552 W. Armitage Ave. In a video taken by a witness and shared with the Sun-Times, cars could be seen blocking the white, unmarked SUV before a masked agent rolled down his window and dropped the canisters. Smoke begins spreading around the vehicle and passersby began to scream.
Someone on the sidewalk then volleyed at least one of the canisters back at the vehicle before it sped off.
David Beale, 39, was on his way to the gym shortly after noon when he noticed a Blackhawk helicopter and Department of Homeland Security vehicle in the area.
Beale told a WBEZ reporter that the federal agents have been targeting the grocery store since the beginning of “Operation Midway Blitz,” President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign in the Chicago area that begin early last month.
At least 10 cars, 10 people and six bikes lined up to stop the vehicle from moving down the street, Beale said.
“One [vehicle] came up by the grocery store here,” Beale said. “A bunch of cars and cyclists and people on foot formed a human blockade.”
“This is tyranny, this is absolute tyranny,” Beale added, and said he and onlookers in the parking lot were tear gassed. “My eyes are burning, my skin is burning, but more than that I’m just mad.”
Demian Kogan, senior director of Organizing at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said ICIRR got word about the incident through its rapid response network. He arrived at the store after the federal agents left, as people were dealing with the effects of the chemicals.
“There was a gentleman over there that was vomiting. There were people in the store nearby that were trying to get water in people’s eyes as soon as they can,” he said.
Kogan said that, since the start of the stepped-up immigration enforcement, there has been an “escalation” in the number of immigration enforcement actions around the city and in the tactics agents use.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection didn’t immediately respond to questions asking for further details on the situation.
The Sun-Times has not confirmed if arrests were made before the scene erupted.
A teacher at a nearby Chicago public school, Funston Elementary, said she saw the canisters of chemical irritant being dropped.
Liza Perez had stepped out of the school, at 3616 W. Armitage Ave., for lunch when she said she noticed a white vehicle “full of ICE agents.” Perez, a member of the teachers union, blew a whistle to alert others of the agents, relying on training she had received.
She saw someone on a scooter stop in front of the agents and then heard a a cacophony of car honking. She noticed one officer in the front passenger seat becoming frustrated.
“He opened the window and he just started throwing out smoke bombs at everybody,” said Perez, who ran for safety into the school.
Perez said there “a few” kids out at recess when the irritants were thrown who were quickly ushered inside. The school held recess inside for the rest of the day.
Multiple school staff members said no students were affected by the irritants. In a message to the community, Funston Principal Sarah Trevino-Terronez said school operations were not affected other than the change to recess.
At dismissal, CTU members marched outside Funston, sharing know-your-rights flyers with families and passersby. Volunteers with rapid response teams and neighborhood residents surrounded the school, some wearing bicycle helmets, gas masks and red whistles around their necks, on alert should ICE officers return.
Chemical irritants also used in Broadview
Federal immigration agents have used chemical irritants like tear gas and “pepper balls” against protesters amid escalating demonstrations outside the ICE processing facility in suburban Broadview.
At a press event held outside Humboldt Park Health’s emergency room, Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) slammed ICE over the incident.
“One of the first calls that I responded to was ICE throwing tear gas right outside of Rico Fresh on Armitage and Central Park,” she said. “Pepper spraying customers coming out of the grocery store, rapid responders responding to ICE presence in our community. People driving by who had to pull over because they could no longer see. This is violence that we are seeing in our community.”
Contributing: Katie O’Connell, Kaitlyn Jakola, Kade Heather
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