Four people, including two tourists, were robbed at gunpoint in River North on Monday evening, according to Chicago police reports. Gunmen robbed two more people in the West Loop, not far from where some of the River North victims’ stolen property was found.
Around 7:35 p.m., Chicago police officers radioed that they just saw an armed robbery occur near the corner of State and Illinois streets. Two women, ages 31 and 33, were walking on Illinois when two men approached them from behind and took their property at gunpoint, a CPD spokesperson said.
Both offenders escaped in a black Audi SUV, possibly an Audi Q4, driven by a third person, according to police. Officers briefly followed the car but soon terminated their pursuit. The SUV was last seen heading south on Columbus Drive.
The victims, who had a high-end watch and other designer items taken, said the robbers were two Black males in their mid-20s. One, who was about 5’9″ tall and weighed about 130 pounds, wore dark brown sweatpants and a dark hoodie. The other was a little shorter and a little heavier. According to the officers at the scene, he wore dark sweats with a dark shirt.
Later, armed men robbed two out-of-town visitors in River North.
The 53-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man were near the 400 block of North Wells when three offenders confronted them with a handgun and demanded their property around 11:30 p.m., the CPD spokesperson said.
All the robbers, who wore ski masks, escaped in a dark-colored sedan.
Police met with the victims at their Streeterville hotel.
Cops found one of their stolen phones around 12:30 a.m. in the 300 block of North Jefferson. Perhaps not coincidentally, two more people were robbed around 12:01 a.m., just a couple of blocks from where the phone was found.
Two men, ages 31 and 33, were walking in the 300 block of North Green when a group of ski-masked men pulled up in a gray or black sedan, police said. The offenders displayed a gun, took the victims’ property, and escaped in the vehicle.
The robberies resemble a growing pattern of armed robberies on the city’s north and near west sides.