So-called “teen takeovers” in Chicago are becoming increasingly violent, to the point that even little boys are being savagely brutalized, says the founder of a “violence interruptor” group that intervened during Wednesday’s teen mob outbreak.
“Well, we got about two or three hundred kids just running back and forth, jumping on cars, just fighting, taunting the police,” Chitown Crime Chasers Founder Justin Peters, who was at the scene of the teen takeover at Chicago’s Loop, said in an interview with Fox Chicago 32.
Peters described how his group intervened to help one little boy who was being stomped on by some of the teens in the mob:
“It got pretty bad, to the point of me and my team actually witnessed a little boy actually getting stomped out unconscious and I had to render aid to him and we had to call an ambulance for this boy.”
“Unfortunately, viral video is circulating showing me rendering aide to a teenage boy who was violently jumped and stomped on unconscious,” Peters reported, sharing Chitown Crime Stoppers video from the teen takeover on X.com.
#TEEN #TREND #CHAOS
— Chitown_Crime_Chasers (@CCC_CrimeChaser) March 26, 2026
Unfortunately, viral video is circulating showing me rendering aide to a teenage boy who was violently jumped and stomped on unconscious.
Myself, my #CCC Violence Prevention team, and our partners from Community Intelligence Unit - CIU showed up to do… pic.twitter.com/U7r7vcDq5A
“Yet another chaotic takeover that the city is struggling to control and handle this year,” Peters writes. “We as violence Interruptors are frustrated having to get involved, in between, and risking our lives to help keep the peace with these kids with little support from the city and no help from the community & parents.”
Wednesday’s violent teen takeover is part of an intensifying trend in Chicago, Peters says:
“It’s frustrating and it’s something that’s an occurrence that’s been happening a lot to us lately. This is the third month of the year and we’ve had several teen takeovers, especially in the downtown area where the same event is happening: more shooting, more shooting kids.”
“I actually had one of the boys that I mentor get shot at the last teen takeover,” Peters said, calling the mob breakouts “devastating.”
Peters describes Chicago Crime Chasers as a “violence interruptor” that responds to crime scenes to help the community and helps spread awareness by providing a safe platform for teens to share their trauma, grief, pain and loss.
“I’m a man of faith. I’m a man of God. And, he called me to do this and I’m just following this path,” Peters said in a 2024 interview after a 17-year-old was shot and killed, explaining why he created Chitown Crime Chasers.
“If it’s breaking my heart seeing this, I can’t image how they (teens) feel, because they’re seeing this, they’re living in it,” Peters told NBC Chicago. “They’re reaching out for help, they’re crying out for help and it seems like their cries are being ignored.”
