CHICAGO – An area that was hit hard in recent years by roving teams of armed robbers, but then saw a sharp decline after Chicago police made several arrests earlier in 2024, is starting to see an increase in activity again.
Five armed robberies and carjackings were reported from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon in the West Town community area, including Logan Square, the West Loop and Ukrainian Village. Some crimes appear to be the work of the same crew.
On Friday around 8:20 p.m., a limousine driver was carjacked at gunpoint by three men in the 2200 block of West Race. Initial reports said the men, one of whom had a long gun, wore masks and black clothing when they seized the woman’s 2020 Lincoln Continental. At least one accomplice in a dark SUV followed them as they drove away in her car.
Then, around 10:40 p.m., three masked men jumped out of a black SUV and threatened to shoot a woman in the 400 block of North Aberdeen, another report said. They made off with her purse and phone.
Then, around 1:50 a.m. Saturday, two masked men in a silver sedan robbed two people at gunpoint in the 900 block of West Randolph.
The robberies returned on Saturday afternoon. About 1:20 p.m., the dark SUV involved in the Race carjacking intentionally struck another driver’s car at Campbell and Wabansia in Logan Square.
Five men, all wearing ski masks, got out of the SUV and drove away in the victim’s white Kia sedan.
Most recently, two men displayed weapons to rob two women at gunpoint in the 900 block of North Wolcott around 3 p.m. Saturday, according to preliminary information. They fled in a white sedan driven by a third person.
All of the robbers were generally described as young black men wearing black or navy blue hoodies and dark ski masks.
This year started off poorly in the two CPD districts that patrol the West Town neighborhoods. Reports of robberies rose even faster than last year’s huge increase.
However, the police made several arrests and the neighborhoods were relatively quiet. In one of the police zones, robberies have now fallen by 35% compared to last year. The other has a decline of 44%. These numbers are still higher than in recent years, but they are a big improvement on what the area had experienced.
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