Chicago Police

Armed Robberies Reported in Lincoln Park

Police are warning residents about a series of armed robberies this week in the North Side Lincoln Park neighborhood.

In each incident, several robbers walked up to victims, produced a handgun and demanded property, according to an alert from Chicago Police. When victims didn’t comply with the orders, the robbers threatened to shoot them.

The robberies happened:

• between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Monday in the 2300 block of North Halsted Street;

• about 10:15 p.m. Monday in the 600 block of West Webster Avenue;

• at 3:35 p.m. Tuesday in the 700 block of West Dickens Avenue;

• at 10:22 p.m. Tuesday in the 600 block of West Webster Avenue;

• at 10:48 p.m. Tuesday in the 500 block of West Belden Avenue; and

• at 10:56 p.m. Tuesday in the 500 block of West Fullerton Parkway.

The suspects are described as four black males between 17 and 20 years old, standing between 5-foot-2 and 6-foot-4 and weighing between 160 and 185 pounds, police said. They were seen driving in a silver vehicle following one of the robberies.

Larry Lindenman is a retired Illinois State Police officer who now teaches self-defense and self-awareness seminars. He urges everyone to look away from their smartphones while walking.

“The way you move through your environment, the way that you walk is either going to attract or detract predatory attention,” Lindenman said.

According to Lindeman, pedestrians should pay attention to their surroundings and preserve their distance from other people. He said warning signs from a potential robber include changes in someone’s facial gestures, target glances and weight shifting. And if someone walks up to you, don’t be afraid to speak up.

“It’s a reasonable request in today’s world that if someone is approaching me and I see that they have an intent to approach me, I can say, ‘hey, can you hold up for a second,’” Lindenman said.

Anyone with information should call Area Central detectives at (312) 747-8380.

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