A shootout of a different kind erupted on the dark streets of Chicago. A group of young men, who have been described as “rival gangs” or “a group of friends” depending on who you ask, were seen in an epic roman candle battle on the west side of Chicago. The massive battle erupted in the streets as cars were halted by the flying sparks and streams of fireworks throughout the streets.
A video uploaded to YouTube shows the events as they unfold in the streets of Chicago. Interestingly, just moments before the roman candle fight erupts in the streets, a police car is seen patrolling the area. Just seconds after the police car pulls out of the shot , people in hoodies can be seen walking into the middle of the street. Then, almost out of nowhere, sparks can be seen shooting through the air towards another person in the road.
As the battle ensues, multiple people pull out roman candles and begin shooting at each other in the streets. The battle lasts for about one minute before traffic slowly creeps up on the group and they head off down the sidewalk. Lenny Gilmore was a witness to the epic roman candle fight and uploaded a number of photos to his Instagram page. In the captions, Lenny notes that the battle erupted between “friends or rival gangs or both.”
“Friends or rival gangs or both ( depending on who I asked ) shooting each other with roman candles on the west side of Chicago tonight.”
Local residents described the scene to CBS News and noted that though the battle was “better than guns and violence,” it still was probably not safe.
“Better that than guns and violence, I guess, but that’s still not safe.”
Meanwhile, others said it didn’t bother them as it was all in fun. One mother says it made it hard to put her kids to sleep with fireworks going off in the street, but that is just “how they play over here.”
What do you think of the roman candle battle in the streets of Chicago? Innocent fun or too dangerous?
[Image Credit: YouTube]
