Chicago police are looking into a series of robberies and a carjacking that occurred on the Near West Side on Friday evening. Almost all of the crimes targeted women.
Around 7:11 p.m., incidents began in the 2200 block of West Superior in West Town. According to officers who responded to the scene, two masked men robbed a woman of her purse and fled in a silver or gray SUV.
Soon after, officers heard screams and discovered another victim in the 800 block of North California Avenue. Two men allegedly approached her in the alley, ripped her purse away, and fled in a gray SUV.
Another robbery occurred in the 1200 block of West Race around 7:45 p.m. and at 7:50 p.m.., two men armed with guns robbed a victim of their phone, wallet, and keys in the 1500 block of West Walton. They reportedly escaped in a gray Hyundai Santa Fe with no license plates.
The hijacking occurred around 8:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of West Belden. Carjackers used two cars to box in a woman’s Jeep, then ordered her out of the vehicle.
Another woman was robbed in Wicker Park as she walked to her car in the 1500 block of North Honore around 10 p.m., a police report said. Two men took valuables from her purse and fled in a vehicle.
Then, two women were robbed in the 2000 block of North Hoyne in Bucktown. They reported that three masked men displayed a weapon and took their property around 10:05 p.m. The robbers traveled in a silver SUV.
At about the same time, two more women were robbed at gunpoint in the 2000 block of West Shakespeare by men who traveled in a silver SUV, another CPD report said.
Friday’s holdups occurred in CPD’s Shakespeare (14th) and Near West (12th) Districts. Robberies are at five-year highs in both districts, according to CPD statistics.