Chicago — A carload of suspected armed robbers committed a series of holdups in Bucktown and the North Side, then crashed into a truck in Lincoln Square as Chicago police officers closed in on them Monday morning. Four suspects are in custody after running from the flaming wreckage, and police recovered three firearms, according to CPD.
The robberies and crash occurred in the same areas where more than 70 people have been robbed at gunpoint since December 2 during almost daily crime waves.
Monday’s spree began around 10:10 a.m. when three armed men wearing ski masks robbed a Humboldt Park man in the 800 block of North Francisco and fled in a beige Hyundai SUV.
Nearly identical robberies and attempted robberies unfolded in the 2500 block of West Chicago, the 2100 block of North Claremont, the 4100 block of North Wolcott, the 4600 block of North Ravenswood, and the 4500 block of North Winchester, according to initial information from CPD sources.
Chicago police began an intense search for the Hyundai, and officers located it traveling through Lincoln Square around 11 a.m.
The Hyundai crashed into the back of a Streets and Sanitation box truck and burst into flames near Oakley and Winona a short time later. Four men ran from the car as cops closed in on the scene. Chicago police conducted a systematic search of the area and found the suspects hiding inside a garage in the 5100 block of North Oakley around 12:20 p.m.
Officers at the scene said they found two guns in the garage.
While Chicago police supervisors often terminate vehicle pursuits quickly out of concerns for public safety, CPD’s Lincoln (20th) District Commander, Brendan McCrudden, personally authorized his officers to pursue the vehicle on Monday morning, according to police radio transmissions.
Earlier on Monday, at least seven people were robbed in another wave of armed robberies in the city’s same parts.
Since December 2, more than 70 people have been robbed in similar holdups involving armed men who jump out of stolen cars, usually Hyundais and Kias. The crews committed several robberies in succession, then took breaks, only to return again.
Last Monday, a concealed carry holder shot three members of a suspected armed robbery team working in the same parts of the city. An adult and two juveniles are charged with one holdup and are considered suspects in many more, a law enforcement source said.
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