CHICAGO — An area that was hard hit by roving teams of armed robbers over the past few years, only to enjoy a sharp drop after Chicago police made several arrests earlier in 2024, is starting to see an uptick in activity again.
From Friday evening through Saturday afternoon, five armed robberies and carjackings were reported in the West Town community area, including Logan Square, the West Loop, and Ukrainian Village. Some of the crimes appear to be the work of the same crew.
Around 8:20 p.m. Friday, a limo driver was carjacked at gunpoint by three men in the 2200 block of West Race. The men, one of whom had a long gun, wore masks and black clothing as they took the woman’s 2020 Lincoln Continental, according to initial reports. At least one accomplice in a dark SUV followed them as they drove away with her car.
Then, around 10:40 p.m., three masked men jumped out of a black SUV and threatened to shoot a woman in the 400 block of North Aberdeen, another report said. They got away with her purse and phone.
Then, around 1:50 a.m. on Saturday, two masked men in a silver sedan robbed two people at gunpoint in the 900 block of West Randolph.
Saturday afternoon, the robberies returned. At about 1:20 p.m., the dark SUV involved in the carjacking on Race intentionally struck another driver’s car at Campbell and Wabansia in Logan Square.
Five men, all wearing ski masks, got out of the SUV and drove away with the victim’s white Kia sedan.
Most recently, two men displayed guns to rob two women at gunpoint in the 900 block of North Wolcott around 3 p.m. Saturday, according to preliminary information. They fled in a white sedan that a third person drove.
All of the robbers were generally described as young Black males wearing black or navy hoodies and dark ski masks.
This year started poorly in the two CPD districts that patrol the West Town neighborhoods. Robbery reports climbed at a pace even faster than the enormous surge seen last year.
However, cops made several arrests, and the neighborhoods have been relatively quiet. In one of the police districts, robberies are now down 35% from last year. The other is enjoying a 44% decline. Those numbers are still higher than most recent years, but they’re a big improvement over what the area had been experiencing.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
