Police: Armed robber targeting CTA riders in Austin

Police are warning CTA riders of a series of armed robberies in the past two weeks in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

The robberies occurred at 10:22 p.m. Feb. 14 in the 300 block of North Laramie Avenue and at 6:30 a.m. Feb. 15 in the 400 block of North Central Avenue, according to a community alert from Chicago Police.

In these incidents, the suspect walks up to the victim as they are in or around CTA property and robs them. In one incident, the suspect pointed a gun at the victim, police said.

The suspect is described as a black male standing between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10 and weighing 150-190 pounds, police said.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to contact Area North Detectives at (312) 744-8263.