Last Updated on February 17, 2022
A 20-year-old man who livestreamed himself smashing an ATM with a hammer in a night of carnage in Chicago last weekend, was arrested and charged following his social media stunt.
Police said that Arron Neal had livestreamed his act of vandalism where he attempted to break into an Automated Teller Machine on a night where over 100 people were arrested in the Windy City.
WGN9 reported “He faces one felony count of burglary and one felony count of criminal damage to property,” following his act–that led to his identification a little over an hour after the video was streamed online.
Speaking about the swift identification of the suspect, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said: “I want to thank the community for standing up and speaking out against this shameful destruction.”
The criminal mastermind sets up his camera phone to record the incident to thousands of viewers peppering the feed with laughing emojis.
After delivering several hammer blows to the machine, he then hands over his tool to an accomplice wearing a bandanna before talking to his large audience.
Seriously? Man Records Himself Trying To Break Into An ATM During Riots & Looting In Chicago! pic.twitter.com/f3kV52kqjX
— Street Talk LDN (@StreetTalkLDN) August 11, 2020
The looting that took place in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile was in retaliation to a 20-year-old black suspect suffering a non-fatal gunshot wound in the shoulder after opening fire at the police.
Thirteen police officers sustained injuries in the night of chaos, with one officer receiving treatment for a broken nose after being struck in the face with a glass bottle.
In one more comedic incident from the forgettable night involved an overweight looter tripping and falling over while being chased by the police.
A local Black Lives Matter organization dubbed the looting as “reparation” and justified the events because the stores were insured.
Despite the supportive sentiment toward the looting, a children’s charity for the families of sick children was attacked by the looters, seeking to gain access. Thankfully, nobody was harmed, but doors and windows were damaged by the mob making their way to the city’s high end retail stores.
