NORTH SIDE — Business owners and neighbors across Lakeview and Lincoln Park are on alert after a group carried out a string of four armed robberies within about 30 minutes late Monday.
Chicago police said the robberies started about 11:30 p.m. Monday in Northalsted, when two men confronted a 47-year-old woman walking along North Broadway and stole her belongings.
Three more people, including a DePaul student, were robbed at gunpoint over the next half hour, according to police.
In each incident, the men either fled on foot or jumped into a white SUV, police said.
No one was physically hurt, but the incidents have left some in the neighborhood reevaluating their sense of safety while urging residents to remain vigilant at night.
Emory Murphy, a bartender at Jacqueline’s, 3420 N. Broadway, said the first robbery happened right outside of the bar. He had just finished work and was gone for a half hour before the robbery happened.
Murphy knows the victim, who he said was pretty shaken up after the incident.
“They came up behind her and threw her against the wall right here outside the bar,” Murphy said. “They took her phone and roughed her up.”
Murphy has worked at Jacqueline’s for four years and has always kept a close eye on suspicious behavior, whether that be patrons or people passing by on Broadway, he said.
“There’s something about this area, it being around the Red Line, that seems to attract some of this stuff,” Murphy said. “In the winter, it happens on the Red Line. When it starts to warm up, it happens around the Red Line.”
The second robbery happened in the 2800 block of North Pine Grove when a 23-year-old woman was held at gunpoint and robbed, according to police.
Andy Patel, the owner of Eastgate Wine & Spirits at 446 W. Diversey Parkway, had closed up shop and was home by the time the robbery happened, but he said he supplied police with video surveillance footage of the robbery Tuesday morning.
“[Burglaries, robberies] were not happening a few years ago,” Patel said. “It was very peaceful. Now it seems more dangerous to walk around the neighborhood.”
In the Lincoln Park community area where the latest armed robberies happened, 15 armed robberies have been reported to Chicago police so far this year. There were 32 armed robberies reported during the same timeframe last year, according to police data.
Patel said he has been robbed a handful of times at the store in the past year, he said. Usually a group of three or four people will come in the shop, spread out and try to distract him at the counter before stealing liquor.
“They’ll come in and have someone bang on the windows from the outside, and someone in here will take two or three bottles,” Patel said. “It’s a hassle for us to chase them.”
Another robbery in Northalsted about 11:51 p.m. Monday targeted a 21-year-old woman in the 700 block of West Roscoe, according to police. Two men approached her, displayed guns and robbed her, police said.
Later, at 12:15 a.m., four men wearing face masks jumped out of a white SUV in the 2500 block of North Sheffield near DePaul University and robbed a 20-year-old student at gunpoint, according to a statement sent to students by the university.
No injuries were reported in any of the cases. Police have not confirmed whether the robberies are connected, and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Student safety is a top priority at DePaul,” the school wrote in a statement to Block Club. “Our staff has been in touch with the affected student to offer care and support.”
Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) said his office has requested more police patrols in the area and plans to meet with local commanders to address neighborhood concerns.
He also encouraged residents to join upcoming safety walks with police and stay engaged through CAPS meetings and block clubs.
“While acknowledging that crime rates are continuing a downward trend in our community, this incident reinforces the need for everyone to be aware and engage in proper safety tips,” Knudsen said in a statement to Block Club.
Staying safe also comes down to looking out for one another, Murphy said.
“Be aware of your surroundings, look both ways, take your damn headphones out and look after each other,” Murphy said. “All those punk rock rules that you’re taught.”
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