Over the past two days, a seven-second clip suddenly disappeared.
On one hand, the Belmont Gardens dance studio, parents, and children feel attacked, and on the other, a Chicago couple admits their actions were wrong and feels threatened by the backlash.
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Just after 10pm on Friday, a woman was seen and heard yelling to someone below: “You’re lucky ICE isn’t here.” A man then walked out and threw a glass of unknown liquid onto the landing. The liquid hit a group of parents and children who were leaving a Mexican folkloric dance class near Belmont and Pulaski.
Dance student Violeta Ochoa Salabert said: “Everyone was just saying ‘goodbye’ to each other. Some kids walked out. Some kids were taken away by their parents and then the neighbors came out and immediately started yelling at us, cursing at us and telling us to shut up.”
The video has taken on a life of its own since being posted online. The couple have been accused of aggressive behavior and being racist. ABC7 spoke with them about the incident.
“That video looks bad. We look like monsters,” the man said.
They tried to explain the situation from their own perspective.
“It was almost like a beer garden out of nowhere. There were forty or fifty people there late at night and I was lost. You wake up a sleeping bear, it’s not a one-time incident. It’s ongoing, seven nights a week,” the man said.
The Latino couple said they just wanted to sleep and deeply regretted their reaction and words.
“I was insensitive when I said that. I shouldn’t have said that,” the woman said. “It’s more like, I’m surprised ICE hasn’t been here yet because they’re so loud. That’s what ICE is looking for.”
The owner of the dance studio told ABC7 over the phone that this is not the first time this happened and she has called police before. Students attending classes on Sunday said they witnessed other outbreaks.
“Same thing, he came out and started yelling and cursing at them. These were 13, 14-year-old kids,” Ochoa Salabert said.
“Everyone was in and out so quickly, it was very disappointing,” parent Darcy Moreno said.
For safety reasons, dance students and their families are now asked to enter and exit from the front rather than through the alley.
On Sunday, police came to the studio to take a statement. Meanwhile, the dance studio owner said she will go to court on Monday to apply for a protective order against her neighbor. The couple told ABC7 they just wanted a chance to sit down and discuss the issue together.