An armed man kicked off a 20-minute robbery spree by holding up a couple as they walked home from dinner in the West Loop on Wednesday night, according to a set of police reports reviewed by CWBChicago. The same offender is suspected of robbing another man minutes later and then capping off the evening by carjacking a driver.
It all started around 10 p.m. when the man stepped out of a black SUV and ordered a man and woman to hand over their valuables at gunpoint on the 100 block of North Ada. The couple complied by giving the robber their phones, wallets, and a purse, the police report said. After the robbery, the offender drove away southbound in the SUV.
About 20 minutes later, an armed robber blocked in a driver on the 500 block of North Leavitt in West Town and robbed the man at gunpoint, another report said. Minutes later and just a few blocks away, the robber carjacked a driver of their white Chevy Impala at Leavitt and Madison.
The victims all described the robber as a Black male in his early- to mid-20’s who wore a green hoodie or sweater. He stands about 5’6″ tall, may have some light facial hair, and wore a black and white mask in at least one of the hold-ups.
Wednesday’s hold-up in the West Loop is the latest in a series of high-profile incidents in the neighborhood.
On Tuesday, a 39-year-old woman carjacked on the 400 block of North Morgan. The woman was inside her red Ford Focus around 3:35 p.m. when three men walked up to her car, and two of them displayed handguns. She complied with their orders to surrender the car, and they drove away westbound on Carroll street with her vehicle, according to police. The men reportedly pushed the woman, but she was not injured.
Last Wednesday, a 42-year-old man was carjacked while he sat in his 2016 Dodge Durango on the 1100 block of West Van Buren. The victim said three men, each armed with a handgun, climbed out of a black SUV and ordered him from his vehicle at gunpoint around 2:11 a.m.
All three hijackers fled onto the inbound Eisenhower Expressway in the man’s Durango. According to police, it was trailed by the car they arrived in, which may be a Kia Soul. The carjackers are four Black males who wore all black clothing and masks, police said.
