Woman Shot During Robbery Near O'Hare
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was seriously wounded early Thursday, when two robbers shot her while trying to steal her purse in the O'Hare neighborhood.
Police said the 55-year-old woman was walking home shortly after midnight, when two men approached her in the 5400 block of North Chester Avenue, and demanded her purse.
A witness who asked to remain anonymous shared what she saw on the corner of Chester and Rascher avenues.
"I remember hearing something that woke me up abruptly in the middle of the night, about 12:15, and I jumped out of the bed. I ran over to the window. I heard the woman screaming," she said.
Police said the woman who was screaming had been shot in the stomach after a struggle with the two robbers. The two men then took her belongings, ran into a waiting vehicle, and fled the scene.
"I saw the woman limping, hunched over, towards the white van over there; and then the guy came out from not in my view. He came into view, and he grabbed her, and he pulled her away from the van," the witness said.
As the victim laid in the street, the witness said she saw several neighbors run up to help her and call 911.
"I was scared for her, and I was scared just to think I want to go out and help her, but I can't until I knew it felt safe," she said. "It's just very frightening. I mean, this is a very safe neighborhood."
The woman who was shot was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she was in serious but stable condition, police said.
Police have not provided a detailed description of the suspects, and believe a third suspect was involved as the getaway driver. Investigators were trying to get more information about the make and model of the getaway vehicle.
No one was in custody Thursday morning. Area North detectives were investigating.