A group of assailants committed five armed robberies in under an hour Tuesday evening in River North, the West Loop, and nearby neighborhoods, according to CPD reports. No arrests have been made.
The trouble began at 10:55 p.m on the 300 block of West Oak Street. A 41-year-old woman was walking when three men stepped out of a green four-door sedan and robbed her at gunpoint of her purse and other items, said Karie James, a CPD spokesperson.
Around 11:09 p.m., the same scenario unfolded on the 300 block of West Superior. James said a 69-year-old man was walking when three men exited a green sedan and robbed him of his wallet and keys at gunpoint.
Six minutes later, a 31-year-old woman was walking on the 700 block of North Halsted when a man robbed her of a fanny pack at gunpoint. The gunman escaped in a sedan that another person drove, James said.
At 11:20 p.m., two men got out of a sedan and robbed another man of his wallet on a parking lot in the 200 block of North Halsted while displaying a handgun.
Then, the robbery team returned to River North. Around 11:40 p.m., three men stepped out of a dark sedan and robbed a man at gunpoint on the 100 block of West Chestnut.
No injuries were reported in any of the hold-ups, police said.
According to various police reports, the suspects were described as three young Black males wearing hoodies and jeans who used a stolen green Ford Fusion that bears a license plate beginning with BL636. Victims and witnesses said the offenders wore masks.
Tuesday’s crime spree resembles a similar one-night crime wave that swept across the Loop and Streeterville on June 26. On that night, an armed robbery crew left one man shot, a driver carjacked, and at least five other people robbed.
Police later issued a community alert that said the crew used a carjacked Land Rover to commit a series of late-night robberies across the downtown area.
In each case, between two and four men stepped out of the Land Rover while wearing ski masks and displaying firearms to demand the victims’ property, according to police. At one point, the crew tried to rob a man on the sidewalk at 222 South Wabash using the same technique. But the victim refused to comply, and one of the offenders shot him in his right ankle, police said.
Incredibly, the crew struck again to carjack a man one hour after they shot the earlier victim, according to a timeline developed by investigators. The carjacking victim was smoking a cigarette on the fifth floor of a parking garage at 217 West Washington when three offenders approached, and one of them implied they had a gun by holding their hand under their hoodie, the CPD report said. The offenders took the man’s phone and wallet, then drove away with his black Dodge Journey.
Police never announced any arrests in connection with the June crimes.
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