CHICAGO — Armed men robbed at least six people during a one-hour crime spree in Humboldt Park and Ukrainian Village on Tuesday evening. No arrests have been announced in connection with the crimes, which are the latest in a series of similar robbery sprees reported in the area over the past six weeks.
Each of Tuesday’s robberies involved a group of men traveling in a gray 2014 Kia that was reported stolen from Wicker Park shortly before the holdups began, according to a source familiar with the incidents. Repeating a pattern seen in other recent sprees, many of the victims were targeted while standing at CTA bus stops.
The first two victims were targeted as they waited for a bus at Grand and Kedzie around 5 p.m. The group fled in the sedan after taking cash and items the couple had just purchased while shopping.
Within minutes, reports of a similar robbery at the intersection of Damen and Chicago avenues surfaced.
Two more victims were robbed while standing at a bus stop in the 900 block of North Western Avenue around 5:40 p.m. They told police that two men, both armed, hopped out of a Kia and displayed firearms, possibly rifles. Other men stayed in the Kia while the robbery was unfolding.
Finally, around 5:50 p.m., a 29-year-old man was robbed at a bus stop in the 600 block of North Homan. Three men wearing ski masks got out of the Kia, pointed a gun at him and took his phone, wallet, and bag.
Nearly identical robbery sprees have been reported at least seven other times since November 22.
On Sunday, six robberies were reported between Humboldt Park and the West Loop. While police stopped a vehicle suspected of being involved in the crimes, no charges were ever announced. 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. And at least five people were robbed during a 45-minute spree on Saturday evening.
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.
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