CHICAGO — Detectives from three of the Chicago Police Department’s five areas have issued a joint community alert to warn the public about the ongoing robbery surge we’ve been telling you about for the past two months.
On Thursday, investigators from Areas Three, Four, and Five issued a bulletin about a robbery crew that they believe committed at least 11 robberies on January 17 and 18, mostly in Humboldt Park and West Town, but also in Old Town.
Using an all-too-familiar technique, up to five men or teenage boys armed with handguns jumped out of stolen Kias and Hyundais to rob people on the streets, police said. Some of the robberies escalated to physical violence when the robbers pistol-whipped their victims, according to CPD.
The latest community alert links this particular holdup crew to robberies at the following locations and times:
January 17
- 1700 block of West Superior at 5 p.m.
- 500 block of North Western at 6:45 p.m.
- 2500 block of West Grand at 6:50 p.m.
- 900 block of North Damen at 7:18 p.m.
January 18
- 1400 block of North Karlove at 5:46 p.m.
- 1000 block of North Avers at 5:50 p.m.
- 800 block of North Pulaski at 5:57 p.m.
- 3800 block of West North Avenue at 6:03 p.m.
- 4300 block of West Thomas at 6:05 p.m.
- 1600 block of North Springfield at 6:06 p.m.
- 1400 block of North Cleveland at 6:30 p.m.
CPD described the group as Black males between 17 and 30, all wearing black or dark colored clothing with black ski masks. They were getting around in a stolen silver Kia Sportage, a stolen black Hyundai Tucson, and a stolen blue Hyundai Elantra, police said.
Investigators can be reached at 312-744-8263, 312-746-8253, and 312-746-7394 regarding crime pattern #25-CWP-005.
Similar robbery sprees have been popping up in an area stretching west from the Near North Side to the West Side since November 22. Among the most recent cases: two robberies occurred Wednesday, one in Bucktown and another in West Town. Six holdups were reported in the area on Friday. Two more waves rolled across the area on Saturday.
