A mob of students fought each other, set off firecrackers and rushed the streets after the Brush Towers were evacuated because of power outages Wednesday.
At around 9:30 p.m. about 1,000 students flooded the streets outside the dormitories chanting, “USA,” “SIU,” “Africa” and “F- – - the police.”
Dewayne Moore, an undecided freshman from Plainfield, said the disturbance began after some students set off firecrackers, which angered many in the crowd.
University officials played down the incident.
“I wouldn’t call it a riot,” said SIUC spokesman Rod Sievers.
Offiicers at the scene, many of them with riot masks and batons, kept journalists at a distance. Officers shined their flashlights at photographers to prevent them from focusing their cameras.
