Sick children and their families crawled in fear into a Chicago Ronald McDonald home when looters slammed the front door as they tried to enter this week, according to staff.
The charity says more than 30 families, including some sick children with them, were “scared” by those who smashed windows when they ransacked Windy City on Monday in the chaotic crime.
“They were very worried that there was a lot of activity right in front of the house, people making choices that could endanger them and endanger our families, so the staff got scared,” Ronald McDonald House said. Charities’ Lisa Mitchell to ABC7.
The attacking property includes families so they and their children can be close to Lurie Children’s Hospital, which should be an easy and safe journey, just five blocks away.
“They’re already in a really, really awkward place, and have this kind of extra stress and worry about getting to and from the hospital … because of safety concerns, the doubling has just doubled,” Mitchell said.
Several windows were smashed and the front door had to be turned up, but no one was injured, the charity said.
Mitchell told CBS Chicago that it was vital that families “get the rest they need while having a child in the hospital seeking care.”
“That it’s so important that anything that can happen outside keeps us caring for families,” she stressed.
At least 13 police officers were injured in violent clashes with looters, with 100 arrests. It began amid reports that a teen had been shot by police officers, although police later said it was a 20-year-old man who first shot at officers when he fled arrest.
Ariel Atkins, an organizer of Chicago’s Black Lives Matter, fueled the looting, calling it a ‘repair.’
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