The media embargo that held in the face of two years of "wilding" incidents, only to break down when Shortshanks left office, doesn't seem to be holding up very well in the post-Shanks era. WLS-AM 890 has an entire article up questioning what really happened on the beach Monday:
- Was it a flash mob that forced the closure of North Avenue beach on Memorial Day?Chicago Police News Affairs released a statement saying they had to close the beach for safety reasons, as people were suffering heat exhaustion and emergency vehicles couldn't get through to help. But, WLS listeners say there was what they called a "large gangbanger element" at the Oak Street and North Avenue beaches.
Listeners report being at the beach, and seeing dozens of gang bangers pushing people off their bikes. Another listener says those causing havoc were not dressed for the beach and looked like "bad elements."
[...] Chicago Police are denying that a flash mob intent on causing havoc forced the closure of the North Avenue beach on Memorial Day Monday.
Well of course News Affairs is denying it was a "flash mob." Flash mobs are usually happy people. These are thugs intent on mayhem. Unfortunately for News Affairs, Chicago seems to have been part of a larger effort. If you hop over to The Drudge Report, numerous cities appear to have been targets of a nationwide coordinated effort:
- [Boston] - Fights broke out among rival gang members on Carson Beach in South Boston yesterday and spilled out across the city, triggering a massive law enforcement response from at least five agencies to stem the violence.
- [Nashville] -NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nearly two dozen police officers were called out to Wave Country on Monday afternoon after large crowds of people became unruly. The disturbance forced park managers to close the facility two hours early on Memorial Day.
- [Charlotte] - CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Questions continue to swirl as investigators search for whoever fired shots during one of many fights in uptown Charlotte early Sunday.
- [Long Island] - LONG BEACH, N.Y. - A Long Island police department says it had to call for backup to quell a beach melee involving hundreds of people that spilled out onto the streets and a nearby bus depot.
- [Rochester] - Rochester, N.Y. – A busy Memorial Day evening at the beach ended abruptly when fights broke out among at least 100 youth.
- [Miami] - The police shooting that killed one, wounded four bystanders and shocked South Beach over the holiday weekend may be the death knell for Urban Beach Week.
So who is everyone going to believe about this weekend? The media, which insists that the summer heat (that occurs every year in Chicago) led the police department to shut down an entire stretch of beaches when there's a giant cooling lake just inches away from the suffering people, or their own lying eyes that have incidents in six different cities along with a Chicago media outlet saying something completely different?
Oh, and be sure to read the comments in the Sun Times article. Very eye opening. We'd say read the BreakingNews.com comments, too, but the Tribune already shut those down before we had a chance to link them. How strange!
Oh, and be sure to read the comments in the Sun Times article. Very eye opening. We'd say read the BreakingNews.com comments, too, but the Tribune already shut those down before we had a chance to link them. How strange!