Two women were robbed in separate but possibly related daytime muggings in West Town on Sunday.
The first victim was near the intersection of Kinzie and Green when at least three offenders struck her and took her purse around 10:40 a.m., according to preliminary information. Witnesses saw the robbers leave the area in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with a loud muffler.
A Chicago Police Department license plate reader detected the Jeep in the 1500 block of West Division Street around 12:20 p.m. Approximately 10 minutes later, another woman was robbed about a half-mile away.
The second victim, a 42-year-old woman, was walking on the sidewalk in the 1000 block of North Paulina Street when a man pushed her to the ground and took her purse, according to CPD. The suspect was described as a thin Black male wearing a black hoodie and a gray shirt.
Robbery reports soared in West Town neighborhoods during the pandemic, and the area suffered endless waves of robbery sprees for nearly three years. But the number of cases has dropped sharply this year, with robberies down at least 40% in the two police districts that patrol the area.
