At least 11 people mugged, victim's dog taken during two hours of daytime robberies on Saturday

Chicago police are investigating eight robberies reported within 90 minutes Saturday morning, mainly in Logan Square and Humboldt Park. The same crew is suspected in all of those holdups.

While that spree was underway, another victim reported that a group of men armed with a baseball bat took his dog in Austin.

At about 11:45 a.m., a woman was tracking her freshly stolen Hyundai when it pulled up to a man and his dog in the 1700 block of North Monitor. The men threatened him with a baseball bat, took his puppy, and drove away.

*A picture of the dog taken from its owner is seen alongside a map showing the locations of Saturday’s robberies. | Ring; Multiplottr*

He posted a picture of the dog on the Ring network Saturday afternoon, saying the robbers were four Black males between 14 and 20 years old in the white Hyundai Elantra.

Apparently unrelated to that crime is a series of holdups that began around 11 a.m.

Just before 11 a.m., a witness reported that two men got out of a car, put on masks, and drove away in a different car near Kilpatrick and Diversey.

The car they drove away, a gray Ford Fusion reported stolen from the 1700 block of West Divison, was used in a string of robberies that began within minutes.

Starting in the 3000 block of North Kolmar, two or three Black males, thin, in their teens or early 20s, dressed in black, and armed with two guns, committed robbery after robbery.

The second holdup occurred in the 4000 block of West Crystal around 11:15.

About 10 minutes later, the Fusion’s passenger got out with a gun and robbed a man in the 1900 block of North Francisco.

Then, at 11:30, two neighbors were robbed in the 2400 block of West Moffat.

After taking out the trash, one man stopped to talk with his neighbor when the crew pulled up and robbed them.

By noon, additional robberies were reported in the 1900 block of North Washtenaw, the 1500 block of North Campbell, and the 2000 block of West Fulton.

The final robbery of the spree occurred a little after noon in an alley behind the 2400 block of West Thomas. Once again, more than one person was victimized there.

Robbery reports citywide are up 25% this year and up 37% compared to 2019, according to the latest CPD statistics report, published Monday.

Things are much worse in the three districts where Saturday’s robberies occurred.

The west end of the area is in the Grand Central (25th) District. Robberies there are up 138% versus last year and up 122% from 2019.

Next door, in the Near West (12th) District, which includes areas from Humboldt Park to the West Loop, robberies have increased by 63% this year. They’re up 106% compared to 2019.

Robberies are up 65% this year in CPD’s Shakespeare (14th) District and up 106% versus 2019, according to the police department’s latest stats. Based in Logan Square, Shakespeare’s officers serve nearby neighborhoods like Bucktown, Wicker Park, and part of Humboldt Park.

At least 11 people mugged, victim’s dog taken during two hours of daytime robberies on Saturday

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