Chicago Police warn of 50 armed robberies in 4 days on North and West sides
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new community alert lists 50 armed robberies that occurred in a period of four days on the North and West sides – and they are all believed to be connected.
We have been investigating this growing pattern for weeks - and in reality, we believe there have actually been more than 100 violent robberies in the past month in the city – all of them on the North, Northwest, and West sides.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported Tuesday, one of expert said the violence involved in these robberies really stands out. The victims are not resisting, but we are still seeing the people behind these robberies use weapons to threaten to attack their victims.
The criminologist we talked to said this is happening for a reason.
Police said all of the robberies happened in the overnight and early morning hours. In each robbery, a group of two to four people in a car, and armed with guns, targets people who are on foot or sitting in a parked vehicle.
These robberies were reported between Wednesday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 10 – with some of them happening in a span of just a few minutes.
The times and locations are as follows.
- 2400 block of West Fullerton Avenue, Logan Square, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 2:08 a.m.
- 1500 block of North Ashland Avenue, Wicker Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 2:54 a.m,
- 2700 block of West Augusta Boulevard, Humboldt Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 3:05 a.m.
- 1500 block of North Western Avenue, Wicker Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 4:15 a.m.
- 2700 block of North Central Avenue, Belmont Central, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 4:21 a.m.
- 4000 block of North Central Avenue, Portage Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 4:42 a.m.
- 5300 block West Berenice Avenue, Portage Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 4:44 a.m.
- 5200 block of West North Avenue, North Austin, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5 a.m.
- 1100 block of North Hamlin Avenue, Humboldt Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:20 a.m.
- 2300 block of West Rice Street, Ukrainian Village, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:30 a.m.
- 3100 block of West Division Street, Humboldt Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:44 a.m.
- 3300 block of West Wabansia Avenue, Humboldt Park, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:45 a.m.
- 3400 block of West Armitage Avenue, Logan Square, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:55 a.m.
- 1600 block of North Cicero Avenue, North Austin, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 6:20 a.m.
- 5200 block of West Crystal Street, North Austin, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 6:40 a.m.
- 3200 block of West Cortez Street, Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 12:30 a.m.
- 1700 block of North St. Louis Avenue, Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 12:45 am.
- 600 block of N Leclaire Ave Thursday, Dec. 8, at approximately at 12:50 a.m.
- 1000 block of North Campbell Avenue, Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 1:20 a.m.
- 800 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 1:25 a.m.
- 2200 block of West Superior Street, West Town, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 1:27 a.m.
- 1700 block of West Superior Street, West Town, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 1:35 a.m.
- 1200 block of North Pulaski Road, West Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 1:37 a.m.
- 1400 block of North Hamlin Avenue, Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 1:51 a.m.
- 1300 block of North Keeler Avenue, West Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 2:06 a.m.
- 800 block of North Harding Avenue, Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5:15 a.m.
- 800 block of North Drake Avenue, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5:20 a.m.
- 4100 block of West Division Street, West Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5;30 a.m.
- 1100 block of North Karlov Avenue, West Humboldt Park, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5:30 a.m.
- 1100 block of North LeClaire Avenue, South Austin, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5:30 a.m.
- 1100 block of North Cicero Avenue, South Austin, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5:38 a.m.
- 1400 block of North Sandburg Terrace (Clark Street), Old Town, Friday, Dec. 9, at 11:19 p.m.
- 2800 block of North Wolcott Avenue, North Center, Saturday, Dec. 10 at 12:07 a.m.
- 0-99 block of East Chicago Avenue, River North, Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 a.m.
- 6100 block of North Glenwood Avenue, Edgewater, Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:08 a.m.
- 1300 block of West George Street, Lakeview, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1:38 a.m.
- 2500 block of West Walton Street, Humboldt Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1:40 a.m.
- 6300 block of North Bell Avenue, West Rogers Park, Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:50 a.m.
- 6200 block of North Bell Avenue, West Rogers Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1:55 a.m.
- 6200 block of North Talman Avenue, West Rogers Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1:58 a.m.
- 1300 block of West Fillmore Street, Near West Side, Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2:05 a.m.
- 1200 block of North Maplewood Avenue, Humboldt Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2:25 a.m.
- 2700 block of West Iowa Street, Humboldt Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2:30 a.m.
- 2700 block of West Superior Street, West Town, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2:35 a.m.
- 2100 block of N. Maplewood Ave Saturday, Dec. 10, at approximately 2:40 am.
- 700 block of North Rockwell Street, West Town, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2:52 a.m.
- 700 block of North California Avenue, Humboldt Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 3:52 a.m.
- 700 block of North California Avenue, Humboldt Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 4 a.m.
- 2700 block of West Grand Avenue, West Town, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 4:02 a.m.
- 600 block of North Trumbull Avenue, East Garfield Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 4:10 a.m.
Police have only a vague description of the robbers, who were wearing dark clothes, hoodies, and ski masks, and were armed with multiple handguns.
But these 50 are just the tip of the iceberg. We have been tracking the spike in violent robberies for weeks.
We are past 100 violent robberies now this past month – with an average of more than a few a day.
"These robberies are concentrated," said criminologist and Loyola University professor Arthur Lurigio, criminologist and professor at Loyola University.
"They're perhaps coordinated and orchestrated."
Looking at all these robberies on the city's North and West sides, Lurigio's first take is that "there might be a leadership dispatching a crew of armed robbers."
Lurigio said the excessive violence really stands out when looking closer at all of the robberies we've tracked. Most striking is the number of people who have not resisted the crews of men demanding their stuff at gunpoint, but who have been thrown to the ground or beaten with guns anyway.
"The superfluousness of the violence might be intended to create terror in the community, so that people will not have any second thoughts about resisting," Lurigio said.
Again, we turned to Chicago Police - asking about these 50 robberies and the more than 70 we were tracking before this list was released.
They told us detectives are still investigating.
Lurigio explained it is not surprising there haven't been more arrests - with these crimes happening quickly and the people behind them oftentimes masked.
"Arrests can happen if there is information about the perpetrators," Lurigio said.
Again, Chicago Police say these recent robberies and others we've been tracking this past month are still under investigation.
A community alert has been issued for these latest 50 robberies, warning people to be aware of their surroundings, and to call the Bureau of Detectives if they have any information on any of the robberies: Area Three (312) 744-8263, Area Four (312) 746-8253, or Area Five (312) 746-7394.
Meantime, police are also investigating five separate armed robberies on the North and Northwest sides on top of all these others. Those robberies happened in a span of about an hour early Monday, and could be connected to a fiery crash in Lincoln Square later in the day.
Police arrested four people after that crash, and confirmed they were suspected in at least one of the robberies.
At an unrelated news conference Tuesday, police Supt. David Brown said the CPD is working to ensure charges that stick will be filed against two separate robbery crews that have been arrested. These crews are responsible for "dozens" of robberies, Brown said.