Robbers hold up Chicago bar and its customers at gunpoint, shoot at owner
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A robbery at a popular West Town bar was caught on camera over the weekend, and it was part of a crime spree in the area.
In the robbery early Saturday morning, the owner of the Irish Nobleman Pub, 1367 W. Erie St., narrowly escaped getting hurt. The brazen robbery happened at 1:47 a.m. at the bar. Customers were robbed, and the cash register was cleared, and it all happened in less than a minute.
"That's Chicago right now for us—you have to have your head on a swivel," said bar owner Declan Morgan.
In a Zoom interview Monday, Morgan said it could have been much worse. He said he was in Indiana Monday picking up bulletproof doors for the business because the robbery crew shot at him while he called the police.
Morgan broke down the chain of events once the three men entered his bar.
"The guys walked in, pointed a gun right in my face, and started robbing customers and robbed the bar. I grabbed the waitress, and we went out the back door. And I went outside by my car and started dialing 911 and shouting for help," said Morgan. "The guy standing at the door that was lookout started shouting at the other guys that I was outside, and they came out and shot at me. So they shot three shots, hit a Jeep, and hit my truck."
Morgan's wife is eight months pregnant.
"I just think, what would my wife have been able to do if I was gone?" said Morgan.
Morgan said the damage to the cars that were both struck by gunfire will cost him more than what they lost in the robbery, but the most expensive consequence is the loss of staff. Four people have quit the bar since Saturday, saying they no longer feel safe working there.
The robbery of the Irish Nobleman was one of four armed robberies that happened within an hour early Saturday morning in the West Town, Bucktown, and Logan Square communities.
In each, the victims were approached by a group of men who exited a four-door silver sedan—possibly a Mazda or a Toyota—with unknown registration.
The robbers pointed black semiautomatic weapons at the victims and demanded cash, cellphones, wallets, keys, and credit cards.
In addition to the gunfire in the robbery of the Irish Nobleman, police said two of the robbery victims were pistol-whipped in the face.
The other robberies all happened before the one at the Irish Nobleman. They occurred:
- At 1 a.m., in the 2400 block of North Maplewood Avenue
- At 1:31 a.m., in the 800 block of North Hermitage Avenue
- At 1:37 a.m., in the 2300 block of West Wabansia Avenue
- At 1:42 a.m., in the 2700 block of North Spaulding Avenue
Meanwhile, another bar, A.J. Hudson's Public House at 3801 N. Ashland Ave. in Lakeview, was robbed early Saturday morning. At 1:15 a.m., two armed robbers entered and took the wallets of six patrons and cash from the cash drawer, police said.
No one was injured in the A.J. Hudson's robbery, and no one was in custody late Monday. Police could not confirm whether the two bar robberies were related.
"It's getting harder and harder to work in the city," said Morgan. "Not one word from our alderman in the 1st Ward that's supposed to be taking care of us. We've been asking for speed bumps to be put in the neighborhoods because the criminals are driving around the neighborhood."
CBS 2 has reached the Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) about Morgan's claims. There had been no response as of late Monday.
Morgan said he is not alone in calling for a crackdown on crime and consequences for those driving it.
Anyone with information on these robberies is asked to call Belmont Area detectives at 312-744-8263 or Grand Central Area detectives at 312-746-7394.