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A new video capturing a massive fight at a busy Near West Side intersection is going viral.
The video of the fight at West Jackson Boulevard and South Western Avenue on Monday afternoon has been shared on Facebook more than 2,100 times as of Wednesday morning. The video was posted with the caption "The Jungle W[e]nt Up."
In the minute-long video, dozens of people, mostly young men, are captured fighting, throwing punches in the street and disrupting traffic near Golden Fish & Chicken. At one point, the mob appears to target one young man who is knocked to the ground, punching him and kicking him.
As cars zoom around the fight, a lone Chicago Police SUV can be seen stopped at the middle of the intersection. A police officer standing outside the SUV does not appear to intervene.
Chicago Police spokesman Frank Giancamilli said the officer observing the incident was following police protocol.
"CPD officers are training to assess and deescalate situations before they become a greater hazard to public safety, as well as the officers involved. In this instance, the officer awaited additional units before intervening," Giancamilli said.
The owner of Golden Fish and Chicken, who declined to give his name Tuesday, said he witnessed the fight from inside his shop at about 3 p.m. Monday.
About 60 people started fighting right outside his store on the northeast corner of the intersection before spilling out into the street, he said. The squad car "just sat there," he said. Later, a bunch of police officers on bikes came to the scene, but the fight had mostly ended by then.
The fight captured on video was a gang fight, the shop's owner said, and one gang appeared to far outnumber the other.
"This could've been very serious," he said. "This is what happens. It's a turf war."