CHICAGO — Two suspects are in custody after they apparently robbed a Chicago Lawn restaurant on Wednesday morning shortly after they also robbed a south suburban convenience store as a TV news crew watched. Investigators were working to link the crew to other cases, but have not yet announced any charges.
An ABC7 news crew was preparing to file a report about traveling on one of the busiest days of the year from the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis on I-294 in South Holland.
“Suddenly, people started scrambling around and yelling that the South Holland 7-Eleven store was being robbed,” the station reported. “That’s when ABC7 saw the offenders speed off in a sedan while customers were visibly shaken, lying on the floor of the store.”
The outlet said the armed crew also robbed and forced the store’s customers to the floor.
It wasn’t long before a similar robbery occurred at Pacheco’s Tacos, 7301 South Kedzie.
Shortly before 10 a.m., at least three masked men wearing dark clothing robbed the restaurant and then targeted the employees as an accomplice waited outside with a stolen Kia, according to a report.
The Chicago Police Department’s hijacking and robbery task force started looking for the Kia. They found it in Morgan Park within a couple of hours using the city’s network of license plate readers.
Cops continued to track the car with license plate readers and one of CPD’s helicopters until it crashed near Leavitt and Cermak around 12:08 p.m. Four male suspects bailed from the vehicle. CPD arrested two of them and recovered a firearm from the Kia.
Officers believed the fleeing suspects tried to rob or carjack at least two people during their escape attempt. But those possible victims were gone by the time the police backtracked to find out what happened.
