Chicago police arrested six juveniles in the Loop early Monday after two waves of street robberies swept the downtown area Sunday and again overnight today. According to a source, the crew is also responsible for critically injuring a woman who was severely beaten during a robbery attempt in the Loop on Saturday night.
Police received a steady stream of calls on Sunday afternoon and evening from people who said a group of young people were attacking and robbing people around the Loop and, later, Streeterville and River North. According to CPD reports:
- Three teens punched, kicked, and pushed a man inside a fast food restaurant on the 100 block of North Michigan around 3:35 p.m. before taking his backpack and running away.
- Around 5:23 p.m., a group of teenagers threw a 28-year-old man to the ground and took his phone at the intersection of Michigan and Balbo.
- A group of about six teens, including one in a NASA sweater, battered and tried to take bags from passers-by along State Street in the Loop between 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- Shortly after 7 p.m., a group of teenagers jumped and robbed a man on the corner of Rush and Grand. A witness recorded the attack on her phone, but the victim was gone when police arrived.
- A group of about eight teenagers reportedly threw rocks and battered people on the 400 block of North McClurg around 7:10 p.m. The teens were seen entering an apartment building on the 400 block of East Ontario a short time later.
The mayhem returned early Monday.
At 1:03 a.m., a group of eight or nine juveniles struck a man in the head and stole his phone and book bag on the corner of Jackson and State in the Loop. The crew then shifted their focus to a woman who was waiting for a bus nearby.
The teens walked up to the woman, displayed a gun, struck her in her head, and stole her property at a bus stop on the 400 block of South State, said Karie James, a CPD spokesperson. The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but her condition was not known, James said.
About ten minutes later, six teens — including one wearing a NASA sweater — pushed a man off of his Divvy bike at Adams and Wells, according to a CPD report. The offenders took the victim’s property and the bike.
Police rounded up five teens in the area who were identified by some or all of the victims. Among the arrestees is a teen wearing a NASA sweater, according to a source. A BB gun pistol was recovered from one of them.
While police were arresting the five, another teen rode past them on a Divvy bike. Cops recognized him as part of the group that brutally beat a woman during a robbery in the Loop on Saturday night. Officers caught up with him and took him into custody, too. Other members of the group were wearing clothing that is identical to the clothes worn by Saturday’s attackers, a source said.
Around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, a group of about seven teenagers approached a 23-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man as they walked near State and Jackson and ordered them to turn over their valuables, Officer Alexis Interrante said.
The woman tried to run away, but the group chased after her and severely beat her in the intersection of State and Jackson, according to a CPD report and a source. Interrante said the teens kicked and punched both victims in their bodies and heads before leaving empty-handed.
The group, which was seen on Divvy bikes before the attack, fled to 87th Street on the Red Line, a source said.
The male victim flagged down a passing Uber driver who took them to the Wit Hotel, 201 North State, where they contacted police.
CPD officers transported the woman to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in a squad car. According to a police report, the woman was in critical condition with head injuries and severe facial swelling. The man declined medical attention, Interrante said. The CPD report said he lives in Florida.
James, the police spokesperson, confirmed that officers arrested six juveniles early Monday, but she did have information about the ages of the juveniles the charges they may face.
Shots fired in Streeterville
Moments before the group of teens were seen running into the Streeterville high-rise on Sunday evening, two men fired shots on Lake Shore Drive just a couple of blocks away. There is no known link between the incidents.
At 6:48 p.m., a lifeguard at Ohio Street Beach and an off-duty cop reported hearing shots fired on the drive. Responding officers met with several witnesses who reported seeing two men firing guns near Erie. According to a report, police found shell casings in the northbound and southbound lanes directly east of the W Lakeshore Hotel, 644 North Lake Shore Drive. Witnesses said the men ran west into Streeterville after firing their weapons.
No injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made.
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