Update December 29: A 17-year-old boy is charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted armed robbery in connection with the incident on Cortland Street, according to Chicago police.
Chicago police arrested one suspect, but three others escaped following another wave of armed robberies that stretched from Little Village to Logan Square on Wednesday morning. The exact number of robberies committed is not known, but CWBChicago has confirmed nine incidents, nearly all of which involved a crew of armed men who traveled in a stolen Kia with a broken rear passenger window.
The robberies occurred in areas that have been hard-hit by a series of similar crime waves since mid-November. Chicago cops have arrested several people in recent weeks, but the robberies continue to occur with less frequency than in previous weeks.
Among the confirmed incidents on Wednesday morning:
- Two armed men exited a Kia sedan and robbed a man of his wallet in the 3300 block of West Pierce in Humboldt Park around 5 a.m.
- A possible carjacking attempt near the 2000 block of West Fulton around 6:20 a.m. A woman told police that she had just parked when three men tried to get into her car, but she foiled the hijacking by driving away.
- Three men robbed a man in front of his business in the 3100 block of West Chicago Avenue around 6:30 a.m.
- Around 6:42 a.m., a 52-year-old man was pistol-whipped in his face by two men who demanded his property in the 3800 block of West Wabansia, police said. The victim did not have anything to give the men, and they left empty-handed.
- A woman was robbed at gunpoint around 6:45 a.m. in the 3800 block of West Cortland in Logan Square.
- Moments later, a man was pistol-whipped and robbed by a group of men near the intersection of Kildare and Armitage in the Hermosa neighborhood.
- A 28-year-old man was inside his car in the 800 block of North Hoyne around 7 a.m. when two men stepped out of the Kia, displaying firearms, according to a CPD spokesperson. The robbers dragged the man from his car, pistol-whipped him, and stole his belongings.
- Around the same time, a victim reported being robbed by three armed men in the 4300 block of West Fullerton. They held a gun to the victim’s head and demanded his wallet.
Chicago police officers located the robbery crew’s stolen Kia in an alley behind the 800 block of North Monticello around 7:15 a.m., according to transmissions on CPD’s encrypted radio system. An officer said they detained one person who ran from the car, and four robbery victims identified the suspect as one of the robbers.
A source said police found a collection of stolen property from robbery victims inside the vehicle. Officers and a canine unit searched nearby homes and yards for the other robbers, but no other arrests were reported.
One of the robbers who remains at large is described as a Black male wearing a dark jacket that says “Yogi Bear” on the back.
For about a month, armed crews have unleashed nearly 100 robberies during increasingly frequent crime sprees, with Chicago’s near west, northwest, and north sides being especially hard-hit.
Last Monday, Chicago police arrested a four-man crew that officials said was responsible for some of the robberies. They’re all being held without bail.
A concealed carry holder shot three members of a four-person robbery team that allegedly tried to rob him on December 5. Charges have been filed against three members of that group, and the fourth remains hospitalized after receiving a gunshot wound to his head.
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