‘Something Has to Change:' String of North Side Robberies Unnerve Residents

Chicago police are issuing public warnings after a rash of violent robberies on the city’s North Side in recent days, including two that happened within just minutes of one another.

The armed robberies have similar features according to police, and while it’s unclear if they are being pulled off by the same crew, residents are worried all the same.

The most recent armed robberies occurred on Monday night, including in the 3100 block of North Damen, according to police.

One of the victims said that a group of three men approached him, demanded his belongings, and then hit him in the head with a gun before fleeing the scene.

“It’s so scary that it’s actually happening here,” the victim said.

Another robbery was reported a short time later in the 1600 block of Waveland when two men say that a dark-colored sedan approached them.

Three men got out of the car, armed with a gun, and demanded their belongings, police said.

A Bucktown couple says that they too were robbed in similar fashion.

“They looked really young. They looked like kids,” one of the victims, who chose to remain anonymous, said. “We had our lives at the mercy of teenagers with guns.”

The couple says they were armed at gunpoint in the 1700 block of North Winchester on Saturday night.

Surveillance footage captured a white Camry stopping in the street, with several assailants getting out.

“I saw them get out of the car, and I said to him ‘run, that’s them,’ and I fell,” one of the victims said. “Luckily my phone dropped and they didn’t see it to take it.”

Some residents say that not enough is being done to keep them safe, and they’ve banded together to hire a private security firm to patrol the area. Two of the victims NBC 5 spoke to say that they hope that firm can work with police, and re-establish the safety of the neighborhood.

“This keeps happening more frequently,” she said. “Something has to change. People are scared.”