CHICAGO — More robberies were reported Sunday in a part of the city that has been hit hard by similar crimes since the week before Thanksgiving. In fact, the number of robberies in two police districts that patrol much of the affected area is almost as high as a year ago, when robbery crews regularly prowled the neighborhoods.
The robbers struck twice in Bucktown on Sunday morning.
According to Chicago police, they first targeted a 75-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman walking in the 1800 block of North Paulina around 7:10 a.m. Two robbers got out of a car and demanded the victim’s property. But they received nothing from the couple and returned to the vehicle empty-handed, a police spokesman said.
An officer at the scene said the getaway car was a white four-door car with tinted windows that was last seen traveling eastbound in the north alley of Wabansia.
Moments later, also in Bucktown, a woman was robbed at gunpoint by three men who took her purse, keys and phone in the 1800 block of West North Avenue. Officers were told to be on the lookout for three younger black males wearing black clothing and traveling in a newer model, white, four-door car.
At least two other people reported being chased by people who jumped out of a white car in nearby neighborhoods between 7 and 8 a.m.
Two more incidents were reported within 30 minutes on Sunday evening, first in the West Loop and then on the Near West Side.
In the 300 block of North Green, a dark two-door car drove into the 300 block of North Green and around 5:20 p.m., a masked man jumped out of the passenger seat to steal a victim’s white Mercedes. Police found the car a short time later in the Oakland neighborhood.
At approximately 5:45 p.m., a delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint in the 300 block of South Leavitt. According to a preliminary report, he was on a video call with his wife when three robbers attacked him and took his keys and phone. The victim told police he believed he had pepper-sprayed at least two of the suspects, who were described as black males between the ages of 16 and 20.
Finally, two masked men robbed a man at gunpoint in the 2300 block of West Rice around 12:20 Monday morning. He reported that two robbers jumped out of a white car, possibly a Kia, that was in an alley and took his phone and wallet. Officers who spoke with the victim said the suspects were black males, approximately 16 or 17 years old, both wearing black puffy winter coats.
Sunday’s robberies all occurred in the CPD’s Near West (12th) and Shakespeare (14th) districts, which served as ground zero for relentless waves of armed robberies from late 2022 to early last year.
The latest police statistical reports for the districts, released last Monday, show the 12th district 16 robberies committed last week and 62 in the previous 28 days. The weekly number is up 23% from a year ago. While the 28-day total is four times fewer than the same period in 2023, it is important to remember that 2023 was the worst year for robberies in the area in decades.
In the Shakespeare District, Reports of robberies increased by 33% this week before last Monday. There were 34 cases reported in the past 28 days, two fewer than the same period in 2023.
Although dozens of robberies, most of which were short-lived, have been reported in the area since Nov. 22, CPD only issued its first alert about the crimes yesterday. And they were just talking about five incidents that happened Friday morning.
Previous reporting
Previous reporting
On New Year’s Eve, at least six people were robbed during an hour-long crime spree in Humboldt Park and the Ukrainian Village. And on December 29, six robberies were reported between Humboldt Park and the West Loop. While police stopped a vehicle suspected of involvement in the crimes, the only charges against the occupants were drug possession. At least seven people were robbed on Friday, December 27, during a two-hour crime spree that started on the West Side and then moved to Old Town and Lincoln Park. And the next evening, at least five people were robbed during a 45-minute attack.
Three armed robberies were reported in Bucktown, Lincoln Park and Avondale from late Christmas Eve to Christmas morning. Last Saturday evening, December 21, at least nine people were robbed during a series of armed robberies. On Monday, December 9, at least seven people, including an off-duty FBI agent, were robbed in a series of similar robberies in Bucktown, Humboldt. Park and Westtown. And on November 22 and 23, teams of armed robbers committed at least five armed robberies and carjackings in Logan Square, the West Loop and Ukrainian Village.
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