Eleven people were targeted in the robberies that took place between 12:25 a.m. and 12:55 a.m., according to Chicago police. In each case, two robbers pulled up in a sedan and demanded property while showing guns. NBC Chicago’s Courtney Sisk reports.
Five armed robberies were reported in downtown Chicago over 30 minutes early Thursday, police said.
Eleven people were targeted in the robberies that took place between 12:25 a.m. and 12:55 a.m., according to Chicago police. In each case, two robbers pulled up in a sedan and demanded property while showing guns.
A 66-year-old woman was walking in the 600 block of North Fairbanks Avenue around 12:25 a.m. when two robbers approached and fired shots in the air, police said. One of the robbers dragged the woman into the street before she let go of her belongings. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.
"My wife and I were in bed around 12:30 a.m. and we hear these gunshots," said a visitor from Houston who was staying near on the 12th floor of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel nearby. "We noticed there was a hole in the curtain and a bullet was laying right on the desk.”
Another visitor staying at the hotel also heard the incident.
“I was woken about 12:30 a.m. to some screaming, then right after 10 gunshots or so," they said. "My heart was racing."
Two minutes later, two people approached a man and a woman standing on the sidewalk in the 700 block of South Clark Street, police said. They flashed guns and demanded their property, police said. The woman, 46, tried to intervene and was struck in the head with a handgun. She refused medical attention on the scene.
Local
Two people were standing in the 200 block of East Randolph Street around 12:30 a.m. when a sedan approached and two people got out with guns and demanded property. A 36-year-old woman was struck in the cheek by a handgun but refused medical attention. A 34-year-old woman wasn’t injured but her belongings were taken, police said.
Three people were in the 100 block of East Wacker Drive around 12:55 when two people approached in a car and demanded property while showing guns. A 28-year-old woman and 25-year-old man were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with minor injuries from a struggle, police said.
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No one was in custody.
"If you don’t notice it, if you don’t see it then you cant react to it," said Doc Velez, the Director of Global Security for NBC Universal Local. Velez is also a retired New York P.D. Captain. "You want to be able to react to anything coming at you.”
Velez said it's important to have situational awareness in nearly all circumstances, no matter where you are.
"Part of situational awareness is being observant, and then having to decide sometimes at a moments notice what it is that you’re going to do," he said. "Once you decide what you’re going to do then actually do it.”
That could mean moving across the street if someone is walking towards you, or choosing to take the longer route home if it means avoiding a group or person that makes you uncomfortable.
"Some people are hesitant to insult someone who’s maybe walking down the sidewalk towards them... don’t be afraid that this person will think, 'oh, I’m crossing the street because of them,' because you really are but you’re doing it because you’re making a conscious decision.”
Velez says to use conditions to determine what situational awareness level you're at.
There are three main conditions broken up by the colors white, yellow and red.
"The one where you’re really not paying attention to anything is in white," he said. "Yellow is what we should always be in. Where you’re relaxed, but you’re prepared. Not paranoid, but paying attention to what’s going on around you when you’re in the street."
Red is when someone is on high alert about the situation they're in, and are ready to fight back.
Velez said to take notice of things that seem out of the ordinary, such as if someone is wearing a coat in 80 degree weather, or if a person appears to be emotional or talking to themselves in an angry manner.
"If you don’t see them then you can't react to it," he said.
When a crime cannot be avoided and is already happening, he said it's best to assess the situation you're in.
"If a weapon is involved you give them whatever they want. It’s not worth you getting hurt," Velez said. "As soon as you don’t give it to them, they go to their next level of force.”
No one is in custody from the five armed robbery incidents from overnight.