Chicago Police Disperse Large 54th Street Gathering in Back of the Yards Hours After Fatal Shooting

CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago police dispersed a large crowd of teenagers in the Back of the Yards neighborhood late Tuesday night.

The gathering took place near 54th Street and Peoria Avenue. Video from the scene showed officers working to move people out as the crowd extended along 54th Street from Peoria Avenue toward Halsted Street.

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Sixteenth Ward Alderman Stephanie Coleman said people had been in the area for a memorial service before the large gathering formed. According to Coleman, an argument erupted and one person was shot and killed.

Chicago police identified the victim as 26-year-old Daryle Hall. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Coleman said the aftermath of the shooting carried into the larger crowd, prompting police to step in and try to restore order.

“Crime has no place anywhere, but it definitely has no place in communities like Back of the Yards, like Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Marquette Park and it is so devastating that we cannot go outside on our blocks in our community, sit on our back porches without being in fear that a stray bullet can come from anywhere,” Alderman Coleman said. “Someone’s life was taken due to just senseless violence, senseless killings.”

Coleman also said the neighborhood’s many vacant lots have contributed to ongoing violence in the area.

Several people were seen being led away in handcuffs during the police response, but it was not immediately clear whether any charges had been filed.

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