CHICAGO — Two more bursts of robberies were reported on Friday night and early Saturday, first in Bucktown and Logan Square, then in West Town and Humboldt Park. Similar robbery sprees have peppered the area for months.
Friday’s holdups began around 5:20 p.m. near the intersection of Hermitage and Augusta in Ukrainian Village. Three gunmen exited a black sedan and robbed a man of his bag, wallet, watch, and phone.
Another robbery occurred in Bucktown at 5:34 p.m. According to Chicago police, a 51-year-old man was in the 2200 block of West Shakespeare when three men brandishing firearms exited a black sedan. They stole the man’s property before fleeing in the sedan.
Then, the third robbery unfolded at 7:06 p.m. in the 2400 block of West Moffat in Logan Square. A 65-year-old man was standing near his car when a masked man got out of a dark sedan with a handgun, a CPD spokesperson said. The offender hit the victim in the face with the gun, then returned to the sedan and fled. Police said the victim declined medical attention. The case is classified as an aggravated battery by CPD.
Victims and witnesses described the robbers as Black men wearing black clothing and ski masks.
The robberies resumed shortly after midnight near Hubbard and Leavitt in West Town. Four masked men in a black sedan pulled up and robbed a man of his wallet and other valuables.
A similar armed robbery occurred around 1 a.m. in the 900 block of North Francisco.
At about the same time, two victims were confronted by two gunmen who jumped out of a car in the 2600 block of West Division. The would-be victims got away, and the robbers left empty-handed.
The suspects in the second spree were described as Black men in their late teens or early 20s who stood 5’7″ to 5’9″ tall. They wore black clothing and masks, but one may have worn a red cloth or a similar item around his face.
At least nine robberies and carjackings were reported in the same areas early Friday morning. Chicago police linked those crimes to two separate holdup crews. But similar crime sprees have been popping up across the North and Near West sides for months.
- On Monday morning, a group of men armed with handguns and at least one rifle went on a cross-town robbery spree stretching from the Loop through Lincoln Park to the Northwest Side.
- Eight women were robbed in about 11 minutes in Lincoln Park Tuesday morning by a crew that traveled in an SUV carjacked from Chinatown. Prosecutors charged a man with participating in the hijacking, but he is not accused of robbing any of the Lincoln Park victims.
- Wednesday night into Thursday morning, five businesses and some of their customers were robbed.
- Three more robberies were reported in Lincoln Park early last Friday. A DePaul student was among four people robbed in the neighborhood the night before
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