Chicago — A group of men armed with rifles and handguns robbed a cab driver as he picked up a passenger in River North overnight.
The cabbie, 49, was outside the Hyatt Place Chicago hotel, 66 West Illinois, when a white SUV pulled up next to him around 5 a.m., according to a Chicago police report.
The offenders displayed at least three guns, including a rifle, as they broke the cab’s driver-side window and robbed the man, according to the report.
After the hold-up, the four-man crew returned to the SUV, possibly a Nissan Rogue, and headed north on Dearborn Street.
On Saturday morning, a taxi driver and his passenger were robbed in West Town.
That driver told police four men wearing ski masks pulled up next to him around 3 a.m. in the 2700 block of West Superior. The group displayed guns and took his wallet and watch, according to a Chicago police report. The crew also robbed the cabbie’s female passenger before driving away.
The Chicago Police Department’s latest statistics report, published Monday, shows robbery cases are up 26% in January compared to the same time last year. The report showed that this year’s robbery tally is also 17% higher than 2021, 29% higher than 2020, and 25% higher than 2019.