Chicago police say armed men attempted to rob a couple in the Loop early on Saturday. Despite sharply reduced activity in the area as the city tries to rebound from the effects of COVID, the downtown neighborhood is setting a near-record pace for robberies this year.
Around 12:50 a.m. Saturday, five offenders, including one with a handgun, confronted a 39-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man on the 700 block of South Dearborn. After the men demanded the victims’ valuables, the victims got into a fight with the men, according to a spokesperson for the CPD.
All of the offenders jumped into a dark SUV that fled the scene without getting anything from the victims, police said. EMS treated the male victim at the scene for small cuts to his right hand.
The man told police he believed the offenders fired a shot at him, but police did not find any evidence of gunfire at the scene.
On Thursday night, a woman was robbed near the CTA kiosk at the Harrison Red Line station, 608 South State. The 33-year-old victim reported a man took her wallet and phone before leaving the area on foot around 11:09 p.m. She described the suspect as as a thin Black male in his late 20s who stands 6-feet to 6’4″ tall. He was wearing a gray sweater and black pants.
Police recorded 115 robberies in the Loop through May 19 this year. That’s more than twice as many as last year. It’s also more than any year since at least 2012 other than 2018.
Robberies are also up 18% citywide this year, with more robberies than in 2020 and 2019, too. Citywide hold-up reports are 15% lower than 2018, according to CPD records.
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