CHICAGO — Armed robbers shot and seriously wounded a man who ran from them in Humboldt Park overnight. The crime was one of at least ten robberies reported in the area during three waves since Saturday evening. Chicago police have made no arrests.
The shooting victim was walking in the 900 block of North Fairfield when three men tried to rob him around 2:06 a.m., according to a law enforcement source.
At least one of the robbers fired shots at the victim from a vehicle as he fled, striking him in the abdomen and arm. Cops found six shell casings at the scene.
While CPD told the media about the shooting, the department did not reveal that the victim was shot during a robbery attempt.
Within a few minutes of the robbery, another victim was robbed in the 2200 block of North Central Park by two men who displayed a pistol and a long gun.
Two robbery sprees unfolded in the area on Saturday evening.
In the first wave, two food delivery drivers were robbed separately in Logan Square.
Chicago police said a 25-year-old food runner was robbed at gunpoint in the 1700 block of North Maplewood around 7:59 p.m. Three or four men confronted him, struck him in the face with a handgun, and took his money and phone, according to CPD.
A couple of minutes later, a 24-year-old man was robbed while making a delivery in the 1700 block of North Rockwell. This time, six offenders exited two cars, a blue SUV and a silver sedan, to take his phone at gunpoint, police said.
Investigators recovered the silver car, a stolen Hyundai, about ten minutes later in the 100 block of North Mozart. It was parked near another vehicle that was recently carjacked, according to cops at the scene.
The suspects in both robberies were described as Black males in their late teens or early 20s. They wore ski masks and hoodies.
Another round of robberies began around 11:15 p.m. in the 1900 block of North Spaulding. A man was robbed at gunpoint by three offenders who fled in a gray SUV.
Within 20 minutes, robberies were also reported in the 3300 block of West Dickens; the 1500 block of North Talman; and at the corner of Leavitt and Rice.
At 11:41 p.m., three armed men exited a stolen silver Hyundai SUV to rob a couple in the 300 block of North Leavitt. Police said the 40-year-old man and 33-year-old woman, were not injured, but they did lose their wallets and phones to the crew.
The same group is suspected of striking again in the 2200 block of West Chicago a few minutes later.
All the crimes committed in this spree were carried out by two and four Black males in their teens or early 20s wearing ski masks, according to descriptions shared by officers in the field.
Around the time of the last robbery, a Chicago police sergeant radioed that he saw the robbers traveling in the Hyundai near Sacramento and Walnut, but they sped away. The Chicago Police Department’s helicopters, a vital tool for an agency that almost never pursues violent criminals in vehicles, were not in service overnight.
Across Chicago, robbery reports are up 24% from last year and 30% from 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
But the story is much worse in the police districts where this morning’s robberies occurred, Near West (12th) and Shakespeare (14th). Compared to last year, robbery reports are up 59% and 53% respectively. They’re up 78% and 96% versus 2019.
The increase is primarily due to incessant armed robbery sprees. Small groups of young men, usually traveling in stolen cars, sometimes commit more than a dozen robberies at a time.
But the Chicago Police Department has become so risk-averse that its supervisors almost always order patrol officers to terminate pursuits of violent offenders, even if the cops see an armed robbery committed firsthand.
As a result, the crews get away, and the scenario repeats itself again and again.
The city is now relying on the Illinois State Police, which allows troopers to chase dangerous criminals, to handle pursuits.
Here is some of our recent coverage:
- Rifle-wielding crew commits at least 5 robberies in 20 minutes on Saturday morning (September 23, 2023)
- At least 14 robbed in violent, hour-long robbery spree overnight; 78-year-old beaten by muggers (September 21, 2023)
- Armed robbers strike 3 times in about an hour in Boystown, Lakeview, Uptown (September 19, 2023)
- DePaul students among several targeted in North Side robbery spree; more cases reported in Wicker Park, West Town (September 17, 2023)
- Uber driver carjacked, bicyclist mugged, third victim chased by robbers during overnight crime surge (September 11, 2023)
- Chicago police warn about armed robbers they were ordered to stop chasing; some victims waited hours for CPD to show up (September 10, 2023)
- Women attacked, robbed in a series of robberies near DePaul University campus overnight (September 9, 2023)
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