Large Gang Fight @ Diversey and Ridgeway Overnight

This neighborhood is getting more violent by the day, from what I can see. There was a large gang fight that broke out around 1:30 this morning at the intersection of Diversey and Ridgeway. At 1:20, as I was wrapping up things on the computer and about to go to bed, I heard shouting in the distance. It sounded like it was from the west, possibly right at Koz Park. Within a few minutes, the shouting got louder and closer. Then, at 1:30, that's when the fight broke out. I had the scanner on, and the first call came from 3740 West Diversey, with a report of 50 people in the street fighting. At first, I couldn't really see anything from my view, as there's trees in the way, and the center of the brawl was at the address on Diversey. However, in about three to five minutes, the fight came onto Ridgeway.

As the fight came onto Ridgeway, you can imagine I was watching from my window (not to worry, I also called 911). Quite frankly, I have to say this fight was a bit terrifying. I saw this large group fighting in front of a garage, and in the street. At one point, they were fighting in the north alley of Diversey, just east of Ridgeway. There were punches thrown, guys shoving, tackles, etc. It was like a free-for-all wrestling match. Then, the scariest part was when my mom told me (I got away from the window at this point) that some guy had a gun, and fired off a gunshot. I didn't hear a gunshot, but then again, that group was so loud that you couldn't hear anything else. I was also told that there were objects thrown around.

A squad car came onto the scene within three minutes, and there were about three or four squads with an unmarked unit out here within six to eight minutes. Although I stayed away from the window, the shouting stopped within a minute, and you heard people's feet walking off, some arguing and the squads driving off. The fight was broken up. This was at about 1:40. Right after, I went back to the window, and saw the large group turning off Ridgeway and going back west on Diversey. The fight was over.

As you can imagine, I was scared. I think I had the right to be. NEVER in my near 20 years of living on Ridgeway have I seen a brawl with this large of a group erupt in front of my own eyes. I have to ask this, but what kind of neighborhood do we live in? Really. What good community puts up with this B.S? None. So, having said that it's really time for those of us living in the area of Diversey and Ridgeway to come together to try to end this. Go to CAPS, join the block club that Ridgeway has (if you'd like to learn about it, contact me), keep in contact with the police, and most importantly, remain vigilant! Remember, this is OUR community, not THEIRS! We are the eyes, the ears and the heart of our communities, and I think it's time we all take that seriously.

By the way, just before I close out, I'd like to mention this is NOT the first incident of violence in the area. We've had two incidents of gunshots being fired last month also, the first one with five to ten Cobras involved, and the second one happening at 11:30 in the morning.

In the meantime, I'll be making phone calls to the 25th District, and the alderman's office, about this. I will NOT tolerate this.