A group of armed men threatened one victim with a gun and robbed two others within about 10 minutes Sunday morning in Bucktown, according to CPD. It’s the latest in a series of armed robbery sprees that have popped up in the area over the past couple of weeks. So far, no arrests have been made.
Yesterday’s crimes began around 10:50 a.m. when a gunman confronted a 68-year-old man on the 2000 block of North Honore, Officer Michelle Tannehill said. The victim was able to run into a nearby home to escape and call the police.
Police determined that the gunman and two accomplices escaped in a gray Volkswagen.
About five minutes later, three men robbed a woman at gunpoint on the 1800 block of North Winchester. According to a police report, two of them displayed handguns and took the woman’s phone, then fled.
Then, at 11 a.m., three offenders confronted a 22-year-old man as he walked away from his parked car on the 1800 block of North Honore, Tannehill said. They displayed handguns and demanded his valuables before driving away in a dark-colored Volkswagen, according to Tannehill.
Investigators have learned that the car is a stolen Volkswagen Jetta with a license plate beginning with CE296.
Sunday’s victims described the suspects as three Black males in their late teens to mid-20s.
More than a dozen armed robberies have been reported around Wicker Park and Bucktown since October 11. Some of them have been violent, and others involved carjackings, according to CPD records.
Around 10:30 p.m. last Thursday, two men stepped out of an older light-colored Lexus to rob a man on the 1200 block of North Wolcott in Wicker Park, according to a CPD report.
Then, just before 11 p.m. that night, two men brandishing handguns stepped out of a silver sedan and robbed a man and woman on the 2100 block of West Webster, police said. The offenders made the victims lie on the ground and took their phones, wallets, and other valuables.
Police said the suspects in the second robbery were two Black males between 25- and 30-years-old who wore face masks, sweatshirts, and jeans.
Three crimes were reported last Monday, October 18:
- Around 10 p.m. on the 1400 block of North Bosworth, two men stepped out of a dark sedan wearing ski masks and approached a 26-year-old man who had just parked his car. The victim ran after the offenders displayed handguns and demanded his property, but he fell, and the offenders caught up with him, police said. One of the attackers punched the man in his face, and they took his phone, backpack, and keys before returning to the sedan. According to a CPD report, the robbers forced the victim to provide his PINs before they left the area.
- About 30 minutes late., two men stepped out of a dark sedan, possibly a blue Infiniti, and approached a 23-year-old man on the 1200 block of North Hoyne, according to Kellie Bartoli, a CPD spokesperson. Once again, the victim tried to run away, but the men chased him and caught up to him when he fell. Bartoli said they displayed handguns, went through his pockets to take valuables, and then returned to the car they arrived in.
- A 24-year-old woman was robbed and carjacked by three men who confronted her on the 1500 block of West Chestnut after they stepped out of a dark-colored sedan around 10:59 p.m. The woman was walking when one of the men walked up to her with a handgun pointed in her direction. Bartoli said he announced a robbery, took her purse, then fled in her white 2017 Nissan Juke. The victim was not injured.
All of the victims that night provided the same general descriptions of the suspects: Two or three Black males between 18- and 25-years-old wearing ski masks.
Several other robberies have been linked to an armed robbery pattern in the area:
- A woman was pistol-whipped during an armed robbery on the 1900 block of West Evergreen shortly before 10 p.m. on October 11. In that case, Bartoli said, two offenders stepped out of a small black SUV and demanded her property at gunpoint after she got out of her car. The men hit her in the head with a pistol and then fled in the SUV.
- At 10:05 p.m. October 11, two men stepped out of a gray Honda CRV and confronted a 34-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man on the 2100 block of West Race, police said. The offenders pointed a gun at the man and patted him down for valuables but realized that he did not have a wallet or phone with him, according to a CPD statement. They then grabbed the woman’s jacket and demanded her phone and money. She refused and even punched one of the robbers, police said. The suspects ran back to their SUV and fired one shot into the air before driving away, according to CPD.
- At 12:23 a.m. Wednesday, October 13, two offenders displayed handguns and pistol-whipped a 26-year-old man in an alley behind the 1400 block of North Milwaukee, police said. They took his wallet and phone, then fled in a black Honda CRV. Police spotted the Honda after Wednesday’s robbery and chased it for a couple of minutes until CPD supervisors determined that the pursuit presented too great of a threat to public safety. They terminated the chase.
- Last Tuesday, three men jumped out of a small black SUV and confronted a man on the 1600 block of West Beach Avenue while displaying two handguns around 8 p.m. One offender put their gun to a man’s head during the robbery.
Police believe additional robberies and carjacking attempts in other parts of the city are part of the pattern, too.
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