Three Venezuelan Juveniles Arrested for Attack, Murder, and Robbery in the Loop
Three Venezuelan migrants, all juveniles, were part of a group that attacked, murdered, and robbed a homeless man in the Loop over the weekend, as per prosecutors and a Chicago police report.
Details of the Incident
The victim, who remains unidentified, was outside Exchequer Pub, 226 South Wabash Avenue, when a group of about nine people walked past him around 5:28 a.m. Sunday, according to surveillance video cited by an officer’s report.
Members of the group, one of whom appeared to be armed with a knife, physically attacked the man, with one attacker making a stabbing motion towards the victim. Another assailant kicked the man in the back, causing him to fall to the ground.
After the attack, the group fled the scene, running down Wabash and turning onto Jackson, then north on State Street to the Red Line, according to the report.
The victim’s body was found about two hours later by a passerby who called 911. He was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a single stab wound to his upper back.
Arrests and Charges
Investigation at the scene led to the discovery of a bike ridden by one of the attackers and the victim’s belongings. On Monday afternoon, police officers located a group resembling the attackers near Cermak and Western, detaining six individuals at the Western Pink Line station.
Wuinayker Rodriguez, a 16-year-old Venezuelan migrant, was arrested with a knife in his possession and charged with murder and mob action. Two 14-year-old boys, also Venezuelan migrants, were charged—one with first-degree murder and the other with robbing the victim.
Rodriguez was scheduled for a detention hearing on Tuesday afternoon, with further details expected to emerge after the court appearance.
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