After an attack that left him bruised and bloodied, a 59-year-old man is sharing his story of terror after he was brutally attacked in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood late last month.
The man, who did not want to share his name or identity with NBC 5, is just one of numerous victims who have been targeted in a string of brutal attacks and robberies in Streeterville and the Gold Coast in recent days.
The man described a white SUV, similar to the vehicle connected to the other attacks, pulling up alongside him, and from there the attackers pounced.
“He blitzed me. I never heard him,” he said, wearing boots with splatters of blood still showing days after the Dec. 30 attack. “I never saw him coming. I was completely knocked to the ground, and my face was on the pavement. So when he was punching me, my head was on sidewalk.”
The man was walking home from Lurie Children’s Hospital at the time of the attack.
“A few steps later, I was tackled as hard as I’ve ever been hit in my life,” he said. “The guy was on top of me. Punched me four times in the face. He stuck his hand in my pocket and took my wallet, and said ‘gimme everything you got.’
“Then he grabbed my phone, and the car was waiting for him at the stop sign. The whole thing lasted about 25 seconds. It was that fast,” he added.
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The man said the phone was a Christmas gift from his son.
“I had it for five days. That hurt the most, because it was from my son,” he said.
The man, left bruised and battered by the attack, worries that his hand might be broken.
“Everything hurts on my body. My toe, my knee is bloody, my hand,” he said.
Just 10 minutes after the man was attacked, another victim, a 63-year-old, was punched in the head and robbed nearby.
Two more robberies were reported on Wednesday evening. One of the thefts occurred in the 200 block of East Delaware Place at approximately 7:45 p.m., and another one took place 10 minutes later in the 200 block of East Walton Place.
Police can’t confirm that all the incidents are connected, but neighbors are shaken nonetheless.
“It just seems to be getting worse too,” one resident said.
As for the 59-year-old, he’s hoping that the assailants’ use of his credit card could provide a clue to their identity. The man said that his credit card was swiped a few well-known places that have video surveillance in Calumet City and Blue Island, and he’s hopeful their images were captured.
On Saturday afternoon, area residents will be able to sound off at a community meeting at the Lake Shore Field House in the 300 block of East Chicago Avenue, according to organizers.
