Police are investigating the robberies of two different smoke shops in the Boystown area on Tuesday, but the cases do not appear to be related.
The first hold-up was reported at Novelties and Stuff, 3248 North Clark, around 1:30 p.m. A store employee told police that two men entered the store, hit him in the head, and robbed the business, according to a CPD report.
The suspects were described as a White man in his 20s and a Hispanic man who wore glasses.
Later, four men attacked a 46-year-old male clerk during a robbery of Halsted Smoke Shop, 3448 North Halsted, around 8:49 p.m., a separate CPD report said. The offenders pepper-sprayed the store employee and took a cash drawer, according to a police media statement.
EMS took the worker to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition.
The offenders, last seen heading west on Newport Avenue, were described as four Black men who wore masks. One wore a yellow hoodie, another wore a blue hoodie, and another was said to be heavyset and wearing a blue hoodie with a black hat.
No arrests have been made.
