This month, a robbery crew has been causing chaos in downtown Chicago neighborhoods, with three additional incidents occurring on Tuesday morning. During these attacks, one victim was pistol-whipped, and two others were held at gunpoint.
The first robbery on Tuesday happened around 5:30 a.m. on the 1200 block of West Flournoy Street in the Near West Side, an area previously untouched by the crew. According to a preliminary Chicago Police Department (CPD) report, four armed men approached a man on the street, hit him on the head with a gun, and robbed him of his wallet and phone before escaping in a black SUV. The injured man sought assistance by knocking on a nearby home’s door.
About 30 minutes later, the crew struck again on the 400 block of West Erie Street in River North. Two men, aged 25 and 47, reported to the police that while they were on the street, a dark-colored vehicle approached, and several armed men emerged, demanding their belongings. After the robbery, the offenders fled north on Kingsbury. This second incident resulted in no injuries.
On Tuesday afternoon, the CPD released a community alert linking these two morning robberies to three previous holdups near the Magnificent Mile.
The previous day, Monday at 4:40 p.m., a 64-year-old man had just left his vehicle on the 100 block of East Chestnut Street when a black SUV, possibly a Maserati, with four men inside, approached. Three of them exited the vehicle, displaying rifles and handguns, and took the man’s wallet, a luxury watch, and a bag reportedly containing firearms. They also targeted two bystanders, a 58-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man, but left without taking anything from them. Surveillance footage showed the SUV moving north on Rush Street, then circling back to Chicago Avenue before heading south on Lake Shore Drive.
The police reported that the crew had also committed robberies on March 8 at 5:25 a.m. on the 300 block of East Chicago Avenue and on March 15 at 4:00 a.m. on the first block of West Walton Street. Victims in these incidents lost luxury watches, jewelry, purses, clothing, and wallets. In one case, the offenders allegedly rear-ended a victim’s car to get closer.
The offenders have been described by police as Black males aged between 16 and 35, wearing dark clothing and masks. On Monday, two were seen wearing white face masks, while another wore a red one.
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