Roman candle fight disrupts Chicago neighborhood

Tuesday night, officers found young men involved in a street battle with unusual weapons. Video of a Roman candle fireworks fight in Chicago has gone viral. It was posted to YouTube and already has over 250,000 video views and counting.

Witnesses said the participants Tuesday night may have been gang members - or may have been friends - or a mix of both. A Chicago police spokesman downplayed the incident's significance and said there was no indication that it's a de-escalation in violence.

Redeye Senior Photo Editor Lenny Gilmore captured a photo of the battle, and wrote about it on his Tumblr page. He said it happened in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood on Western Avenue.

“Roman candle battle on Western Ave. in Chicago. between 2 rival gangs. But also ( as a local resident described ) between friends who all knew each other and grew up together.  I did the same thing with my friends in the suburbs… not with the same context however. No one got hurt and the police came and broke it up.”