On Sept. 6, at 3:49 p.m., Evanston police officers were monitoring the routine dismissal of students from Evanston Township High School. While in the 1900 block of Church Street, police observed a large group gathered around two subjects who were fighting, said Commander Tom Guenther, public information officer of the Evanston Police Department. Police immediately intervened attempting to restore the peace and separate the combatants, he said. While officers were confronting these combatants, numerous other fights began to erupt throughout the crowd, making this situation extremely volatile, he said.
As this situation began to escalate, officers were forced into physical confrontations with various subjects involved in fights and who were ignoring the police’s commands to stop fighting, said the Commander. One officer used his Taser to prevent further injury and to aid in controlling and arresting a highly combative offender, he said.
Eventually, order was restored, but only after a large response by police, said the Commander. One officer sustained an injury to his leg; no combatant claimed injury.
In an ensuing investigation, police determined that some of the combatants used text messaging to plan and inform others that a fight was going to occur after school, said the Commander. Police detectives confiscated suspects’ cell phones as a part of their continuing investigation.
Four males, ranging in age from under 18 to 20 years, were charged with felony counts of mob action. Three are Evanston residents, one is from Chicago.