In a surprising turn of events, a Chicago neighborhood was thrown into disarray when federal agents released tear gas just before a children’s Halloween parade was set to begin. This incident unfolded in the Old Irving Park area, where Border Patrol agents arrived on Saturday morning around 9:50 a.m. to carry out an arrest.

The timing of the operation coincided with the much-anticipated Old Irving Park Association Halloween Parade and Party, slated to commence at 10 a.m. from the Disney II Magnet Elementary School. The festive event was disrupted as the agents moved in to apprehend a suspect, causing quite a stir among the residents.

As the parade preparations were underway, locals reported hearing unusual ‘whistles’ shortly before three arrests were made on the 3700 block of North Kildare Avenue. This unexpected interruption left the community in shock and raised concerns about the timing and method of the federal operation.

Brian Kolp, a resident of the neighborhood, recounted the scene to Fox 32. He described the moment, saying, “I started hearing some whistles and when I looked out, I saw two fully uniformed Customs and Border Patrol agents tackling a guy to the ground literally in my front yard right here.” His account highlights the tension and confusion that ensued just steps away from a family-friendly event.

Resident Brian Kolp told Fox 32: ‘[I] started hearing some whistles and when I looked out I saw two fully uniformed Customs and Border Patrol agents tackling a guy to the ground literally in my front yard right here.’

The man who was detained had been working on a nearby home when he was chased on foot and arrested on the street outside of Kolp’s home. His brother told the outlet he was an undocumented immigrant who had been brought to the US when he was four years old. 

The scene escalated as angry locals poured out of their homes and began blowing whistles and protesting the agents’ presence in the neighborhood. It was at this point the federal agents tossed tear gas onto the crowd. 

North Kildare Avenue, specifically the 3700 block, was mapped as part of the Halloween parade taking place just around the corner. 

Locals are in uproar after federal agents deployed tear gas on a block in Old Irving Park just minutes before a children’s Halloween parade was set to begin just blocks away

Resident Brian Kolp said he began hearing whistles before he saw the arrest of a man as well as his elderly neighbor thrown to the ground and detained

The scene escalated as angry locals poured out of their homes and began blowing whistles and protesting the agents’ presence in the neighborhood

The parade began at the elementary school and looped down North Keeler Avenue before coming back up North Kildare three blocks over, where the tear gas was deployed. 

‘So you had folks who were literally out on the street taking their kids to this Halloween parade when this happened,’ Kolp told the outlet. 

‘And I didn’t see anybody with a weapon. I didn’t see anybody make physical contact with these agents. I didn’t see anybody do anything that justified, for instance, taking my 70-year-old neighbor to the ground.’

Kolp told Fox 32 that the neighbor in question was also taken into custody, the second of the three total who were detained during the incident. 

The former Cook County prosecutor told the outlet that he picked up some of the canisters used by the federal agents and gave them to a law firm that is preparing to sue the federal government.  

‘Although I wasn’t close to where they used the [tear] gas, I never heard them announce they were going to use it,’ Kolp told WGN-TV.

‘It was an upsetting situation for a lot of people. There are kids on the block right now, there were kids on the block when it happened.’ 

Around thirty minutes later, the agents were said to have got back in their cars and drove away. 

Kolp said he picked up the canisters and took them to a law firm that is preparing to sue the federal government 

The Halloween parade’s route was set to walk up the street where the agents deployed the tear gas

The agents arrested at least three people on Saturday morning before the tear gas was set off around 9.50am as angry locals took to the streets

While the parade went ahead, many elected to stay home instead, according to Fox 32. 

State Representative Lindsey LaPointe wrote on Facebook that the agents appeared in the neighborhood with ‘force and aggression’ on Saturday morning. 

‘They tackled neighbors and area landscape workers, detained what we believe to be four people (including a US Citizen area resident, and a US citizen cyclist) and deployed tear gas. These actions are harmful, traumatic, illegal and uncalled for,’ LaPointe wrote. 

The state representative said she appeared on the scene after the tear gas had dissipated and began handing out whistles and Know Your Rights information, along with Alderwoman Cruz’s Office and the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Rights.   

‘Many of us are appalled, horrified and angered by these federal actions. But many of us are also heartened that neighbors care and are coming together – showing up for each other, sharing information and making it clear that none of this is okay and none of this is normal,’ she continued.

‘After everything had cleared, many neighbors walked the block after seeing info on social media, showing up because they care.’

Many Old Irving Park locals shared their anxiety and anger over the incident on Facebook. 

On a post by the OIPA, one resident said: ‘One of my fears is walking outside with my mother who is 83 and her getting tear gassed.’

Protestors hold signs protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Little Village, Chicago IL on Saturday 

Another user shared the representative’s post and described the incident as a ‘gut-punch.’

‘It’s much worse. This one honestly has me in tears, it’s such a gut-punch. This is just around the corner from our last home in Chicago, a neighborhood that I truly loved and where I really thought we’d live out our days,’ they wrote. 

‘We had incredible neighbors, many who had lived there for generations, were invested in the community, and looked out for each other. HOME. When I think of Chicago and home, this is the neighborhood I picture.

‘I’m so proud of my former neighbors for doing what they always do, keeping each other safe, and I’m devastated that I’m not there to support them. ICE is terrorizing our communities. THIS is the truth about what is actually happening.’

One user claimed the agents had been ‘hanging around’ for around two to three weeks in the neighborhood. 

‘I am hearing parents don’t even want to take kids to school and even doctor visits,’ the wrote. ‘They are also hanging around by the Jewel parking lot by Six Corners too. This is going to start causing a public health emergency if it continues.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, the Old Irving Park Association and the Chicago Police Department for comment. 

The uproar comes as a judge indefinitely extended her temporary restraining order against National Guard troops being deployed in the Chicago area. 

Members of the National Guard patrol along Beale Street on Friday in Memphis, Tennessee

On Wednesday, US District Judge April Perry blocked the deployment of troops until the case has been decided either in her court of the US Supreme Court Intervenes. 

Perry had already blocked their deployment for two weeks with a temporary restraining order. 

Attorneys representing the federal government said they would agree to extend the order but emphasized that they would continue pressing for an emergency order from the Supreme Court that would allow for the deployment.

‘Every day this improper TRO remains in effect imposes grievous and irreparable harm on the Executive,’ Solicitor General Dean John Sauer wrote in a Supreme Court filing Tuesday. 

Lawyers representing Chicago and Illinois have asked the Supreme Court to continue to block the deployment, calling it a ‘dramatic step.’