Antioch, Illinois mayor issues curfew 'until further notice' after arrest in fatal Kenosha shooting

ANTIOCH, Ill. - The mayor of Antioch, Illinois issued an emergency curfew for Wednesday night, Aug. 26 after police "identified several social media posts which indicate the Village of Antioch may be the target of unknown groups wishing to incite civil unrest." This, after a 17-year-old from Antioch was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of two people in Kenosha Tuesday night. A third person was hurt amid violent protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha Sunday.

Antioch Mayor Lawrence Hanson issued this statement to the community Wednesday evening:

"As communicated to our community earlier today, our police department has identified several social media posts which indicate the Village of Antioch may be the target of unknown groups wishing to incite civil unrest, as a result of incidents taking place last night in Kenosha, WI 

As your Mayor, I take my responsibilities very seriously, and none more so than keeping our community safe for all.  Throughout today’s recent events, I have remained in constant communication with our police department and Village leadership.  Through my discussions with the Chief of Police and Village Administration, I have considered all available information in a deliberate and thoughtful manner in order to lead me to making the best decisions for our Village. 

In the current situation, based on a thorough evaluation of potential threats of civil unrest in our Village, and the potential for such a situation to create very a tense and potentially volatile environment, I have determined it is in the best interest of our community to issue an Emergency Curfew Order.  This will be in effect only as long as necessary, and until this threatening situation no longer poses a threat to Antioch.  The implementation of this curfew will assist our police department in allowing them to remain focused on what is most important right now, the protection of our town. 

As such, I declare and order that a curfew is hereby imposed on all persons within the Village effective from 8:00pm through 7:00am each day, until further notice.The need for any continuation of the curfew will be continually evaluated, and I call on our community to understand the need for this measure."