Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to help Chicago police catch the three men who pistol-whipped and robbed a father in front of a young child on Halloween afternoon in Bridgeport.
CWBChicago first shared the infuriating video Saturday morning, showing the brazen attack unfold just seconds after the man parked and helped the costumed child out of the car for trick-or-treating. Now, Crime Stoppers is calling on the public to identify the “thugs” responsible.
“This is wrong! We have a cash reward up to $1,000 on who these thugs are!” the group said in a Saturday Facebook post. “Spread the word! Share!”
The enraging footage shows the 42-year-old victim parking his SUV around 3:16 p.m. in the 2600 block of South Emerald Avenue. He opened the back door and helped the girl out as she clutched her orange candy bucket. Within seconds, an armed man sprinted across the street toward them, aiming a handgun with both hands.
The man backed up with the child beside him, but the gunman closed in and smashed him in the head with the weapon, sending him stumbling into a fence. As the victim clutched his face, another robber rushed in and began rifling through his belongings.
The little girl stood steps away, still holding her candy bucket, just a few feet away as a third assailant ran to the parked SUV, jumped into the driver’s seat. The attackers fled with the man’s SUV, phone, and wallet. Officers later found the SUV in the 300 block of South Maplewood Avenue, but no arrests have been made, police said.
The attackers were described as Black men about 20 years old.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-535-STOP or email [email protected]. Tipsters receive a unique code to claim rewards if their information leads to charges.
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