Police are investigating an armed home invasion in the Rogers Park neighborhood that bears some similarities to another attack that was reported about an hour earlier in Lincoln Park. Detectives have not connected the two crimes. No one is in custody.
At 10:09 p.m., a 22-year-old man and his 20-year-old friend were sitting in an apartment on the 1300 block of West Greenleaf when they heard a knock on the window, a police spokesperson said.
The older man looked outside, saw an acquaintance, and went to open the front door. That’s when the acquaintance displayed a handgun and forced his way into the building with two other men that the victim does not know, police said.
The offenders then forced their way into the victim’s unit where the gunman pistol-whipped the younger victim. They took a backpack from the apartment and left the building.
Police said the older victim told officers that he hung out with the gunman before, but he does not know the man’s name or anything else about him.
An ambulance crew transported the 20-year-old to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston for treatment of a head injury.
Police said the gunman is a Hispanic man in his mid- to late-teens who stands about 5’8” tall and weighs about 150 pounds. He wore a black hoodie.
Another offender is black an between 17- and 20-years-old. He stands 5’10” to 6’1” tall and wore a black hoodie.
The third robber was described only as being a black male.
Lincoln Park case
Almost exactly one hour earlier, three men forced their way into a woman’s apartment in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and demanded to know where “the money” was located. The woman was struck repeatedly in the head, tied up, held at gunpoint, and robbed, police said.
The 32-year-old woman was able to break free and get help from a neighbor in the building at 420 West Fullerton. Arriving officers found the woman with tape wrapped around her neck and mouth.
She said she answered a knock at her door and the three men forced their way in.
The woman is being treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
Police on Wednesday morning released updated descriptions of the offenders. One is in his late 30’s or early 40’s, 5’5” tall, and about 160 pounds. He has braided hair and wore black clothing with a gold necklace.
The second man, about 27-years-old, stands 5’8” tall, weighs about 140 pounds, and has black hair. He wore a white long sleeve shirt and light-colored jeans.
And the third offender is between 25- and 28-years-old and about 5’7” tall. He had orange color on the tips of his hair.
Area North detectives are investigating both crimes.
This story was updated with more detailed offender descriptions for both crimes at 12:10 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2019.