Chicago police have issued a community alert to warn about a series of carjackings and robberies that have been reported in Lincoln Park and Lakeview this week. CWBChicago told you about the crimes in a series of reports over the past few days.
According to the bulletin from Area Three detectives, two to four offenders are approaching victims who are alone on streets and sidewalks to take property by force or at gunpoint. Investigators connected five robberies to the pattern, two of which involved carjackings.
All five incident happened during the early evening hours this week:
On December 20, two men robbed a woman at gunpoint outside her home on the 600 block of West Wrightwood in Lincoln Park around 7:30 p.m. The offenders put a firearm to the woman’s head and took her valuables before running northbound on Orchard Street, she said. Police previously said this incident took place on the 700 block of West Wrightwood.
Around 6:30 p.m. on December 21, several witnesses reported seeing a victim fighting with three men during a robbery on the 3800 block of North Fremont in Lakeview.
Three men robbed a woman as she sat in her car under the “L” tracks on the 900 block of West Oakdale around 7:10 p.m. on December 21. The woman, age 22, told police that the three robbers pulled up next to her in a dark SUV, grabbed her, and began taking property from her and from inside her car. She was not injured.
At 8:20 p.m. Monday, a group of carjackers in a dark SUV pulled up next to a 28-year-old man as he got out of his Honda CR-V on the 1700 block of West Wrightwood, according to Bown. One robber pointed a handgun at him while the others took his belongings, then they drove away with his Honda CR-V.
Police found the carjacked Honda in traffic near Fullerton and Ashland a few minutes later. Officers began pursuing the car, but police supervisors ordered them to terminate the chase under CPD policy.
Just after 7 p.m. on December 22, three men pulled up next to a 53-year-old woman as she sat in her parked car on the 2500 block of North Seminary, CPD spokesperson Sally Bown said. The offenders got out of their vehicle, opened the woman’s driver’s door, and dragged her from the SUV. According to Bown, they then threw her to the ground, and she struck her head on the pavement.
Two carjackers got into the woman’s Nissan Rogue and sped away northbound. The third offender followed them in the vehicle they all arrived in, according to Bown.
Cops located the stolen car a few minutes later as it traveled northbound on Sheffield near Belmont. A police supervisor ordered the patrol unit to terminate their pursuit of the carjacked SUV near Addison and Southport.
Moments later, the stolen SUV slammed into two other cars at the intersection of Montrose and Clark. The two occupants of the stolen car ran away northbound, according to witnesses. Officers who responded to the scene said they found one of the other drivers trapped and unconscious in his car. An ambulance transported him to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
According to the community alert, the robbery team has four members:
- three Black males between 15- and 26-years-old. One stands 5’8” tall, another 6-feet, and the third about 6’2”.
- a Black male between 19- and 23-years-old
Several victims and witnesses reported seeing the robbers arrive in a dark-colored SUV, possibly a Buick.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 regarding pattern P20-3-226.
