Chicago looters smash the doors to Ronald McDonald House while 30 'frightened' families along with their sick kids huddled inside the children's charity
Chicago's Ronald McDonald House had its doors smashed during rioting and looting that took place on Monday night while children were inside the home.
The facility provides a shelter and resources to families while a child receives treatment at local hospitals.
The Chicago location is close to Lurie Children's Hospital.
'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,' said Lisa Mitchell, of Ronald McDonald House Charities to ABC11.
The Ronald McDonald House in Chicago was vandalized during looting early Monday morning
The doors to the building were completely smashed but nothing inside was damaged
The charity provides a home for sick children and their families while their child receives medical treatment at nearby Lurie Children’s Hospital. Pictured, how the building is normally
More than 30 families together with their sick children were inside along with the staff as they watched completely helplessly as everything unfolded outside.
'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,' Mitchell said.
Apart from the front doors, which had to be boarded up, no damage was caused to the inside of the house and no one was injured as residents inside the facility were placed on lockdown.
Chicago police are now looking to track down those responsible as the cleanup got underway on Tuesday.
Families and their sick children were on lockdown and forced to remain inside
More than 30 families and kids were sleeping inside when looters who had taken over downtown, ransacked stores and vandalized properties
Bridges and expressways in downtown Chicago reopened on Tuesday after business owners and emergency workers headed back to the area after a night of violence and looting
Workers clean up broken glass at an Orvis store after violence broke out on Monday night
Workers at Rossi's clean up after a night of unrest & looting in downtown Chicago
On Monday night, looters were caught on camera shoving shopping bags full of stolen goods and equipment into their cars.
Some ATM machines were also damaged and broken into, along with cash registers that were stolen. At least one bank had also been broken into.
Videos of the vandalism showed huge crowds of people smashing their way into businesses and streaming out of the broken windows and doors with clothes and other merchandise. They loaded up vehicles, some moving slowly and deliberately, apparently not worried about being caught by police or being recorded by scores of cellphone cameras.
Vehicles drove away slowly, some leaving behind boxes of rocks that they had apparently brought to shatter the windows.
Workers clean up the inside of the Saint Laurent store after it was looted on August 10
Hundreds overran the city's upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and surrounding areas with vandalism and violence
Bridges and expressways in downtown Chicago reopened on Tuesday after business owners and emergency workers headed back to the area after a night of violence and looting.
More than 100 people were arrested after vandals damaged businesses in the area which led to the entire neighborhood being placed on lockdown, even for those who live in the area.
Most of the trouble happened along the upscale Magnificent Mile section of the city, which is one of the most popular areas that tourists like to visit.
Stores miles from downtown were also ransacked, their parking lots littered with glass and boxes that once contained television sets and other electronics.
The civil unrest comes at the worst possible time as businesses struggle to get back on their feet after months of lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic followed by more looting earlier this summer during anti-racism and police brutality protests.
Staff board up Louis Vuitton on Magnificent Mile in Chicago on Monday afternoon
A Walgreens was also one of those stores that was ransacked during the night of violence
Chicago looters smash the doors to Ronald McDonald House while 30 'frightened' families along with their sick kids huddled inside the children's charity
![Chicago looters smash the doors to Ronald McDonald House while 30 'frightened' families along with their sick kids huddled inside the children's charity]()
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August 13, 2020
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