Two people arrested after a police chase ended Friday morning may have been involved in a string of robberies in the Chicago area.
Police said an armed robbery was reported just before 3 a.m. in the 500 block of North Halsted when officers saw three people attempting to rob a 7-11 store.
The group fled the store in a vehicle and were chased by police before the SUV crashed and the offenders fled on foot, officials said.
According to authorities, two people were caught during the chase, but two men escaped.
Two employees at the store were injured during the robbery, officials said.
One person was hit with the butt of a gun and was taken to John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County in stable condition. A second person was cut in the hand and was treated at the scene, according to police.
Police said it wasn’t the first armed robbery report overnight. Two other stores also reported similar incidents just minutes earlier.
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Around 2:23 a.m., police said armed men walked into a Shell gas station in the 1100 block of West Diversey Avenue announced a robbery and fled with an unknown amount of money. Less than 10 minutes later a 7-11 in the 2600 block of North Lincoln Avenue also reported an armed robbery, but the clerk escaped to a back room and called police while the suspects left empty-handed.
Police initially said it wasn’t clear if the incidents were related, but said they were looking into several convenience store robberies and had persons of interest in custody.
“It just kind of makes me nervous because I only live a couple blocks that way and this is supposed to be a safe neighborhood,” said Lakeview resident Hanna Pulliam.
No charges had been filed as of Friday afternoon.
