CHICAGO — At least seven people were robbed Friday evening during a two-hour crime spree that started on the West Side and then moved into Old Town and Lincoln Park. The robberies are the latest indication that robbery crews that plagued the area for nearly two years are forming again.
All of Friday’s robberies involved a crew of four or five males who traveled in a white sedan. A 2017 Kia that had been stolen from Humboldt Park was used in some of the crimes. Cops found it abandoned in Avondale after the spree ended.
The first holdup occurred in the 1100 block of North California shortly before 5 p.m. A man reported that two robbers jumped out of a white car and took his bookbag at gunpoint.
Another robbery occurred around 5:30 p.m. in the 3800 block of West Augusta. About 15 minutes later, four men punched and robbed another man at a bus stop near Taylor and Westner.
The crew hit four more times in less than 30 minutes in Lincoln Park:
- in the 2100 block of North Sheffield around 6:20 p.m.
- in the 500 block of West North Avenue around 6:25 p.m.
- at Fullerton and Clybourn around 6:30 p.m.
- at Fullerton and Racine around 6:35 p.m.
Victims generally described the robbers as Black males in their mid- to late teens. One victim thought one robber wore a red sweater and another wore a blue top, but most of the victims reported that the crew wore all black clothing.
Similar robbery sprees have popped up at least four times over the past five weeks.
From late Christmas Eve into Christmas morning, three armed robberies were reported in Bucktown, Lincoln Park, and Avondale. At least nine people were mugged during a string of armed robberies last Saturday evening, December 21.
On Monday, December 9, at least seven people, including an off-duty FBI agent, were robbed during a string of similar robberies in Bucktown, Humboldt Park, and West Town. And on November 22 and 23, teams of armed robbers committed at least five armed robberies and carjackings in Logan Square, the West Loop, and Ukrainian Village.
So far, police have not released any community alerts about the robberies. Detectives typically distribute alerts when they believe a person or group is responsible for an ongoing crime pattern.
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