Chicago police have released new information about a lightning-fast crime spree that left one man shot and four others robbed early Wednesday on the North Side. All of the incidents occurred between midnight and 12:27 a.m., starting in Edgewater and ending in Boystown.
At around 12:05 a.m., two men, ages 19 and 30, were walking in the 1000 block of West Balmoral Avenue when three masked gunmen approached from behind and ordered them to lie on the ground, CPD spokesperson Kellie Bartoli said. The robbers took the victims’ property, ordered them to run in opposite directions, and then escaped in a silver car.
Around the same time, two more men were robbed in the 1000 block of West Bryn Mawr Avenue. Bartoli said the victims, ages 31 and 43, were outside when a silver car pulled up, and three gunmen wearing ski masks emerged from the vehicle.
The crew demanded the victims’ belongings before fleeing south on Winthrop in the silver car.
Then, at around 12:20 a.m., they confronted a 44-year-old man outside his apartment building in the 5400 block of North Winthrop. One of the robbers shot the victim in his right thigh, and another kicked the victim. They escaped in a silver car that headed south. EMS took the victim to St. Francis Hospital.
Finally, the group tried to carjack a man at gunpoint in the 600 block of West Addison around 12:27 a.m., according to CPD.
In a community alert issued late Wednesday morning, Chicago police said the robbers were three Black males between 18- and 30-years-old who wore ski masks. The alert said one wore a gray hoodie and another wore an orange or red hoodie.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 regarding crime pattern P22-3-057.
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