On the one hand, there are a Belmont Gardens dance studio, parents and children who feel under attack, and on the other, there are a Chicago couple who admit their actions were wrong and feel threatened by the backlash they have received.
Just after 10 p.m. Friday, a woman was seen and heard yelling at those below, "You're lucky ICE isn't here." A man then came out and threw a glass of an unknown liquid over the landing. The liquid hit a group of parents and children, who were making their way out of a Mexican folkloric dance class near Belmont and Pulaski.
"Everyone was just saying 'bye' to each other. Some kids were walking out. Some kids were walking out by their parents, and then the neighbor just comes out and starts straight away yelling, cursing at us, telling us to shut up," said dance student Violeta Ochoa Salabert.
Since it was posted online, the video has taken on a life of its own. People are accusing the couple of assault and of being racists. ABC7 spoke with them about the incident.
"That video looks awful. We look like monsters," the man said.
They are trying to put some context into what it was like from their perspective.
"It was almost like a beer garden back there, out of nowhere. Forty to 50 people that late at night, I lost it. You woke up a sleeping bear, and it's not one incident. It's ongoing, seven nights a week," the man said.
The couple, both of whom are Latino, said they were just trying to sleep and expressed deep regret over their reactions and their words.
"I was insensitive when I said that. I shouldn't have said that," the woman said. "It was more like, I'm surprised ICE hasn't been here already, because of how loud they are. This is what ICE looks for."
The dance studio's owner told ABC7 over the phone that this incident was not the first, and she had called the police before. Students in class on Sunday said they have witnessed other outbursts as well.
"Same thing, he comes out and starts yelling and swearing at them. These are kids under the age of 13, 14," said Ochoa Salabert.
"Everybody is quickly in and out, in and out, and it's very disappointing," said parent Darcy Moreno.
Dance students and their families are now being asked to come and go out of the front, rather than through the alley, for safety's sake.
Police were at the studio on Sunday, taking statements. The dance studio's owner, meanwhile, said she is going to court on Monday to take out an order of protection against the neighbors. The couple told ABC7 they just want an opportunity to sit down and hash this out together.