CHICAGO — Two boys, ages 13 and 15, are charged with participating in a series of armed robberies and carjackings in Logan Square on Wednesday morning, Chicago police said. At least seven people reported being robbed by two carloads of attackers who circled the area for about an hour, and police said between six and eight offenders were involved in some of the crimes.
Yesterday morning, members of CPD’s Vehicular Hijacking Task Force arrested two of them in the 4300 block of West West End Avenue, police said.
The teens are accused of being part of the group that carjacked a 38-year-old man as he walked to his Ford Fusion in the 2100 block of North Whipple at 5:59 a.m.
A few minutes later, they were allegedly involved in robbing a 55-year-old man in the 2600 block of West Altgeld. Police said three vehicles blocked an intersection and tried to rob the driver, who lives nearby. The man locked his car door, and the crew fled the scene empty-handed, according to CPD.
They were among six attackers who used two cars to box in a 53-year-old man as he sat in his car in the 2700 block of North Mozart at 6:14 a.m. The group opened the man’s car door, punched him in the face, robbed him, and ordered him out of the vehicle. He complied, and they drove away with his car.
At 6:30 a.m., about eight attackers pushed a 27-year-old man to the ground and beat him in the face on the 2600 block of West Cortland, a CPD spokesperson said. The crew, including the two teens who were later arrested, took the victim’s property and escaped in two cars.
Around the same time, a 50-year-old man was allegedly attacked by the boys and up to six other males who exited two cars in the 1800 block of North Talman. They hit the man in the head with an object, took his valuables, and fled in the vehicles.
Chicago police said both boys are charged with two counts of vehicular hijacking, two counts of robbery, and one count of attempted robbery. The 13-year-old is also charged with felony counts of unlawful possession of a debit or credit card and criminal damage to government property.
Police said the 15-year-old also had an outstanding warrant, which suggests he has other criminal matters pending in the juvenile justice system.