A series of robberies occurred in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's West Side recently, prompting police to warn residents in a community alert.
In each incident, the offender approached the victim, engaged them in conversation and then demanded property before forcibly reaching into their pockets. In two of the incidents, the offender was armed with a knife.
The first incident happened on Jan. 19 at about 2:20 a.m. in the 5500 block of West North Avenue, and the second incident happened the same day at 11 p.m. in the 5200 block of West North Avenue. The third incident happened on Jan. 25 at about 3:50 a.m. in the 4200 block of West North Avenue.
The first offender is described as a black male between the ages of 17 and 21, standing about 5-feet-9-inches and weighing about 170 pounds. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
The second offender is described as a black male between 17 and 21 years old, standing about 6-foot-2-inches and weighing about 225 pounds. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt as well.
The third offender was only described as a male. No further description was available.
Anyone with information can call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.
