A doorbell surveillance camera captured footage of a gunman shooting at a robbery victim during a hold-up near the Armitage Brown Line station on Friday morning. No one was injured by the gunfire, but the robbery crew went on to commit two more armed robberies moments later in Lakeview. No arrests have been made.
The video shows a sedan pulling into an alley on Bissell Street, just north of Armitage Avenue. A police spokesperson said it happened around 5:30 a.m. Three men bolt from the car to confront a 31-year-old man who is near a Divvy bike station.
Yelling is heard as the attempted robbery unfolds. The victim runs away toward Armitage, causing the robbers to retreat to their car. One of them turns and fires a shot toward the victim. Watch:
About 15 minutes later, between 5:45 and 5:50 a.m., two men approached a 23-year-old woman from behind as she walked in the 1100 block of West Wellington in Lakeview. They displayed guns and demanded her property, Bartoli said.
The victim complied, and the robbers, who wore ski masks, escaped in a black four-door sedan that was waiting for them nearby. It headed west on Wellington.
Finally, a dark-colored sedan carrying four people pulled over in the 1300 block of West Fletcher at 5:55 a.m. A man emerged from the back passenger-side door with a handgun and confronted a 27-year-old woman who was walking nearby.
She ran away when he demanded her property, Bartoli said.
CPD’s Town Hall (19th) Police District, which includes Lakeview, is experiencing a significant rise in robbery reports this year. Cases are up 59% compared to last year and 2020. They’re up 49% compared to 2019 and 14% compared to 2018, according to police department stats.
Robbery cases are also on the rise citywide, with the category up 21% compared to last year, 13% compared to 2020, and 8% compared to 2019, according to CPD’s latest statistics. However, hold-up reports are 15% lower than in 2018.
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