CHICAGO — A video circulating online that appears to show a large group of young people grabbing, punching and attacking a woman in downtown Chicago has been seen more than 14 million times since it was posted by a local crime blog CWB.

The images are horrifying.  A woman screams as the group corners her against a distinctive set of doors, reportedly at 129 N. Wabash in Chicago’s Loop.  In a split second, a large group of young people begin punching and kicking the woman as she appears to fall to the ground and isn’t seen again.  The clip is just 20 seconds long and was captioned with the words “Yay we get active.”

An initial report to police reported an attack one block away, in the 100 Block of N. Michigan Avenue leading to some confusion. After all, there were multiple altercations that evening. On Tuesday, investigators re-classified the location of the attack as indeed being in the 100 Block of N. Wabash.  The narrative police shared with the media isn’t very revealing:

100 block of N. Wabash on April 15, 2023, between 8 p.m. – 8:40 p.m. (1^st District) 

The victims, a 22-year-old male and a 20-year-old female, related they were at the above location when a group of unknown offenders approached. The offenders struck the victims several times before taking their personal property and fleeing in an unknown direction. The victims were transported to the University of Illinois Hospital with minor injuries. No one is in custody at this time. Area Three detectives are investigating. 

The attack occurred on the evening of Saturday, April 15 when hundreds of teenagers and young adults took over the streets and stomped on cars, broke windows, beat-up a CTA bus driver and two people suffered gunshot wounds.

Traditional news organizations, including WGN, have not shared the video and many have demanded to know “why not?” 

WGN has been unable to contact the person who posted the video to confirm basic details let alone receive permission to use it on our platforms (a necessary step under our standards).  Reporters have scoured the location looking for other surveillance cameras that may have captured the attack or people who witnessed it.  So far, no luck.

WGN, and no doubt other news organizations, have filed Freedom of Information Act requests with police, fire and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication for reports that may shed more light on what occurred.