CHICAGO — A rideshare driver was robbed at gunpoint while making a pick-up in Logan Square this morning, Chicago police said. Moments later, someone fired shots from a stolen car used in the robbery as it left the area. No injuries were reported.
The car, a gray Hyundai Sonata with a broken rear side window bearing license plate CM31691, has been used in at least eight armed robberies since Monday morning, according to CPD reports reviewed by CWBChicago.
A CPD spokesperson said the 53-year-old rideshare driver was picking up a passenger in the 3500 block of West Cortland when a gray Hyundai Sonata pulled up around 6:07 a.m.
Four men got out of the Sonata and displayed firearms. They took the Uber driver’s valuables, then fled in the Hyundai.
Just a minute later, an off-duty police officer was among the witnesses who called 911 to report shots fired from a gray Hyundai Sonata near the corner of Kedzie and North Avenue. CPD cameras and license plate readers confirmed that the stolen Hyundai was involved, officers radioed.
More robberies were reported earlier Tuesday. Each followed the same pattern: the Hyundai rolled up to people on the street, and three or four masked gunmen got out to rob them.
Around 2:40 a.m., a victim was robbed in the 3100 block of West Chicago Avenue.
Another report stated that at 4:40 a.m., up to six men brandished firearms while robbing food vendors near California and 47th Street. This time, a freshly carjacked Jeep Cherokee carrying additional offenders accompanied the Hyundai.
Both vehicles were involved in another robbery near Carpenter and 18th Street about 15 minutes later.
Police found the Jeep abandoned in the 2700 block of West Polk shortly after 5 a.m., according to an officer at the scene.
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Before heading to Logan Square to rob the Uber driver, the men in the Hyundai robbed another victim near 16th and Halsted around 5:40 a.m., according to a CPD report.
The car was also used to commit two robberies on Monday morning: in the 800 block of North Hermitage and near the intersection of Walnut and Oakley. Two men were robbed in the second incident, a CPD report said.
The arrest of a four-person robbery crew last week was a definite win for Chicago police who have been dealing with near-daily holdup sprees for weeks. But waves of armed robberies have continued since last week’s arrests, suggesting much more work to do.
On Monday evening, a man was shot during a botched carjacking attempt in Bucktown. The offenders went on to rob two more people in the area within minutes. Sunday afternoon, a crew targeted four people at bank ATMs in under an hour. And at least 14 people were robbed during sprees on Friday.
Robbery reports citywide are up 17% from last year and 24% from 2019. Last week, there were 222 robberies in the city, up 27% from the same week last year.
But the real story is in the Near West (12th) and Shakespeare (14th) Police Districts, which patrol areas like the West Loop, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, Humboldt Park, and Ukrainian Village.
Near West’s robberies are up 50% this year. Last week, the district had 26 robberies, up 100% from the same week last year. In the 28 days ending July 30, the district had 94 robberies, up 77% from 2022.
Shakespeare had 12 robberies last week, up 50% from the same week last year. For the 28 days ending July 30, there were 56 cases, up 60% from the same period in 2022.