Three recent armed robberies near the Magnificent Mile and in Lincoln Park were probably committed by the same group of offenders, according to a Chicago police bulletin. Shots were fired during one of the robberies.
The hold-ups all took place on busy streets during afternoon hours. Police said the offenders used a silver Ford Explorer to getaway after two of the crimes.
On November 9, a 29-year-old man was walking in the 700 block of North Rush when someone tried to take his shopping bag around 2:15 p.m., police said. The offender displayed a handgun and then fired three shots toward the victim, who fell to the ground. He was not seriously injured. Police said the victim declined medical attention.
The robber fled from the scene eastbound in a silver Ford Explorer with the man’s property. Police believe the Explorer had been recently stolen from a car dealership.
Then, on November 12, a 31-year-old man was walking just east of Chicago and State streets when a small gray or silver SUV stopped in front of him around 12:20 p.m., said CPD spokesperson Kellie Bartoli. Two of the vehicle’s occupants got out, displayed a gun, and took the man’s valuables, Bartoli said. They then got back into the SUV and fled westbound on Chicago Avenue. The victim was not injured.
The next day, a group of three people was robbed at gunpoint by three offenders in Lincoln Park, police said. The victims — a pair of 22-year-old men and a 23-year-old woman — were on a sidewalk in the 2200 block of North Halsted when the robbers walked up and displayed a handgun around 10:39 p.m., according to CPD spokesperson Officer Michael Carroll.
The suspects are two to three Black males who stand 5’8” to 6-feet tall, weigh 160 to 200 pounds, and are between 25- and 40-years-old, police said in a community alert.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 regarding case P20-3-209.