Chicago — A group of men armed with a rifle and two handguns carjacked a man as he carried pizzas in Bridgeport on Saturday evening. Surveillance video of the robbery shows that the offenders, while heavily armed, were remarkably courteous — calling the victim “sir,” saying “thank you,” and even returning his pizzas after he handed over his car keys.
Saturday’s robbery occurred two blocks from where another victim was robbed by a group of men armed with pistols and a rifle on January 5. That crime was also captured on video.
The victim, 36, was walking in the 600 block of West 29th Street when the three men confronted him around 7:35 p.m., a Chicago police spokesperson said. Video shows two robbers displaying handguns and a third sprinting across the street with a rifle.
“WHOOOOA!” the victim cries as the first hijacker confronts him in the video, which was provided to CWB Chicago by a reader.
“You got keys?” one of them asks before agreeing to hold the victim’s pizzas so the man can dig his keys out of his pocket.
“You good?” a carjacker asks, returning the pizzas after the man surrenders the keys.
“I’m good,” he replies.
“All right, thank you,” replies one.
“Thank you, sir,” says another.
“You betcha,” replies the victim as he takes a long drag from a cigarette, then walks away.
Chicago police said the trio drove away with the victim’s Toyota RAV4, but no one was in custody as of Sunday evening.
Back on January 5, just two blocks from Saturday’s crime, a group of men displayed guns and a rifle to rob a man outside a Marathon gas station, 659 West 31st Street. It was also captured on video:
Both videos appear to show a group of armed offenders that Chicago police have issued two public warnings about — men who travel in more than one car to rob and carjack people while displaying firearms and pistols.
According to the police, the group has struck many times since that night, targeting people at ATMs, gas stations, and on the street for robberies, carjackings, and auto thefts.
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