An armed robbery team fired gunshots as they robbed a group of peple who were walking in Bucktown early Sunday morning, according to police. The same team is suspected of robbing a group of three people who were walking in West Town minutes earlier.
In the first case, three women, ages 39, 41, and 44, were walking on the 1000 block of North Marshfield around 2:45 a.m. when three men stepped out of an SUV while displaying handguns, Officer Ronald Westbrooks said.
They took the victims’ purses and phones, then threw one of the phones onto the ground before escaping in the vehicle, according to Westbrooks. He said the suspects are males between 15- and 25-years-old who stand about 5’6″ and weigh about 140 pounds.
Then, just before 2 a.m., three men stepped out of a Jeep Grand Cherokee with handguns and confronted a group of friends who were walking on the 1900 block of West Cortland, Westbrooks said.
They pushed a 25-year-old woman to the ground and took her keys, phone, and checkbook. Another 25-year-old woman in the group threw her purse to the ground and the offenders took it, too, Westbrooks said.
One of the robbers fired at least one gunshot into the air as the group returned to the Jeep. Officers who responded to calls of shots fired found the robbery victims and discovered a bullet hole in a nearby SUV, according to Westbrooks.
He said the victims described the suspects as three Black men who are about 25-years-old and wore dark clothing with ski masks.
No injuries were reported in the hold-ups.
Lakeview and Lincoln Park links?
Investigators are now trying to determine if the robbery crew is the same one that’s committed a series of hold-ups across Lakeview and Lincoln Park in recent weeks, including one that targeted a group of five people who were walking in Lincoln Park about 20 minutes before the robbery on Marshfiled yesterday morning..
On Saturday, CPD issued a community alert linking a series of hold-ups across Lakeview and Lincoln Park this month to a crew with a similar method of operation as Sunday’s offenders — including the willingness to fire a gun during their crimes.
Police said the crew is responsible for an armed robbery on the 800 block of West Barry in Lakeview around 11:45 p.m. Friday. In that case, a group of five men and three women between the ages of 25 and 30 were walking when a dark-colored sedan pulled to a stop alongside them, according to Chicago police.
Three gunmen stepped out of the car and demanded the victims’ purses, wallets, and phones, police said. The victims complied, and the offenders fled in the vehicle, which a fourth person drove.
In addition to Saturday’s crime spree, the same robbery team is suspected of robberies and carjackings:
- On December 1 in the 1000 block of West Barry at 8:15 p.m.; the 1600 block of West Cornelia at 8:53 p.m.; the 1400 block of West Cornelia at 8:55 p.m.
- In the 2200 block of North Fremont at 9:30 p.m. on December 3. A gunshot was fired by one of the offenders during that Fremont crime, police said.
- In the 800 block of West Newport at 10:40 a.m. on December 4
- On December 6 at 8:50 p.m. in the 2200 block of North Lincoln and at 9:47 p.m. on the 2300 block of North Clark
- On December 8 at 9 p.m. in the 1000 block of West Addison and again on the same block at 9:07 p.m.
According to the community alert, the suspects are a group of two to five Black males between 13- and 25-years-old who wear ski masks and dark hoodies. Anyone with information about the group can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 regarding crime pattern P21-3-136B.
