After a woman accused of shoplifting a bottle of gin was wrestled to the ground by the owner of the liquor store and arrested, black residents took to the streets in anger.
[2] On August 15, 1964, Blondella Woods, a black woman and Chicago resident, was accused of stealing a bottle of gin from Foremost Liquors at 2240 West 147th Street in Dixmoor.
When she tried to leave the store, owner Michael "Big Mike" LaPota and his employees wrestled Woods to the floor, reportedly to prevent her from fleeing or smashing liquor bottles.
They threw rocks, bottles, stones, and bricks, breaking car windows and windshields, and hurting drivers and passengers.
Sheriff Richard B. Ogilvie, future Governor of Illinois, instructed police to broadcast over loudspeakers: "If you shoot, we’re going to fire back."