Chicago's Guardian Angels are on the prowl in response to recent mob activity downtown and along the lakefront.
The community safety group plans to begin patrols along the Magnificent Mile and part of the CTA Red Line starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Miguel Fuentes, chapter leader, said patrols will begin at Chicago and Wabash, where a flash mob attacked and robbed two teens Tuesday night. Guardian Angels will make the rounds throughout the area to Oak Street Beach.
Tuesday night's robbery came within hours of police issuing a community alert in connection with a pair of mob attacks on Chicago Transit Authority buses and weekend attacks in Streeterville and the lakefront.
"It's unnecessary violence," Fuentes said. "They're crimes of opportunity, and it's a complete disregard to people in general."
The patrol will also target the Red Line, believed to be the mobs' main method of transportation, between the State and Lake station and the North and Clybourn station.
Fuentes advised commuters to hide their electronic devices and keep an eye out for suspicious activity. If necessary, commuters should report incidents to CTA employees or police with as detailed a description as possible.
Although the patrols are only scheduled for the next few days, Fuentes said the group will continue to patrol for weeks or even the entire summer if the attacks continue.
"It's something that as Guardian Angels we will not tolerate," Fuentes said. "Especially if we see something, we will exercise our right to make a citizen arrest, and if we have to, we will get physically involved."
