4 armed robberies reported in an hour at Loop, West Loop businesses on Monday evening

Update 3:04 p.m. — Chicago police just issued a community alert about Monday’s robberies, which means detectives believe they were committed by the same offender. The alert describes the robber as a White male between 18- and 25-years-old who stands 5’6″ to 5’8″ tall and weighs 150 to 180 pounds. It says he was wearing a dark-colored hat, dark coat, and blue jeans. Anyone with information about the man can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 about crime pattern #22-3-016.


Police are investigating four armed robbery attempts that unfolded in about an hour at businesses in the Loop and West Loop on Monday evening. While CPD has not publicly linked the crimes, they all involve a similarly-described man armed with a knife.

The approximate locations of Monday evening’s armed robberies and attempts. | Multiplottr

He threatened employees with a small knife at each location, but most of the hold-ups failed, according to CPD reports reviewed by CWB Chicago.

The robberies and attempted robberies were reported at Starbucks, 171 West Randolph, around 6:40 p.m.; CVS, 208 West Washington, around 6:50 p.m.; McDonald’s, 1035 West Randolph, around 7:30 p.m., and CVS, 1034 West Lake, around 7:36 p.m.

Witnesses at all of the locations described the offender as a White male armed with a knife who wore a leather jacket and bandana across his face. He is slim, stands about 5’9″ tall, and appears to be between 25- and 35-years-old, according to various descriptions given in the CPD reports.

On Sunday evening, a Walgreens customer was critically wounded when he confronted a shoplifter at the company’s 641 North Clark location in River North. Police never released a description of the suspect in that case.

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About Tim Hecke 5785 Articles
Tim Hecke is CWBChicago's managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America's 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago's managing partner in 2019. He can be reached at tim@cwbchicago.com