Mr. Te, 36 years old, got a call around 3:15 a.m. Monday that people were trying to break into the building that houses his store, Imperial Jewelry, along Chicago’s downtown strip known as Jeweler’s Row. He grabbed his gun and bulletproof vest and rushed downtown.
What he saw when he got there was a scene that played out along some of the city’s toniest neighborhoods: looters breaking windows, stealing merchandise and outmanned police trying to chase them away.