A Midlothian group held a walk Tuesday night in the wake of at least four attacks on women in the south suburban community.
The Midlothian Community Policing Committee met at the Midlothian Train Station at 7:30 p.m. for its regularly-scheduled walk, designed to foster relationships and to get to know area residents.
But there were more people than usual on Tuesday's walk, a direct response to the recent violent incidents.
"I'm concerned and I want to help any way that I can," Midlothian resident Starr Knapp said. "It's time for everyone to get together now and prevent it from happening again."
Two of the attacks on women have occurred as women left the train station, including an attack early Sunday when a woman was robbed near the intersection of 145th Street and Trumbull Avenue.
The incidents prompted Mayor Sharon Rybak to warn residents Monday not to go out alone.
"If you need a ride please call, find a friend, just don't be out alone," Rybak said.
The first reported attack took place July 20, just blocks from the police station near 150th and Harding. A woman with her child was approached by a man with a gun. The woman said the man punched her and demanded a sex act that she refused to perform. The man ultimately fled with her purse and about $20.
Police said another woman was attacked around midnight July 29 near Central Park Avenue and Abbottsford Road by a masked man who punched her and stole her purse.
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The woman told police she saw the man walking behind two women on 146th Street and Abbottsford Road but when they entered a nearby residence, the man turned and started jogging in her direction. The woman ran, but the man sprinted after her and tackled her to the ground.
