A 16-year-old boy who pushed an 82-year-old man to the Chicago Red Line platform Thursday morning and took his wallet is now charged with robbery of a person over the age of 60, police said today.
The victim was entering an elevator from the platform when the teen jumped him from behind around 11:45 a.m., according to a Chicago police report.
Officers in CPD’s surveillance camera center pulled up footage of the robbery and broadcast a description of the robber to street units. Cops in the field spotted the teen walking with a group near Superior and Rush and arrested him after a short foot chase.
Police did not release more information about the teen because state law shields those details.
Robberies are at a 12-year high along the CTA train lines from downtown through the North Side, we reported last week.
As of April 25, police recorded 66 robberies on in CTA stations and on trains, platforms this year in five lakefront police districts that serve the city from 31st Street to Rogers Park. It’s the most robberies since 2010 and the second most since at least 2002.
The stats include all train lines in the Loop, the Brown Line to Rockwell, the Red Line from 31st to Howard, and the Purple Line. Robberies are increasing even though ridership on the train system is depressed because of COVID and the growing work-from-home trend.
