Police: Armed attackers duct taped employees at Skokie business

Employees at a cemetery monument business in north suburban Skokie were bound with duct tape Friday morning by armed intruders who stole the owner’s keys and ransacked his home.

Three males armed with “cutting instruments” entered Troost Memorials, 9853 Gross Point Road in Skokie, shortly before noon, according to a statement from Skokie police. The 82-year-old man who owns the business and a 56-year-old woman who works there as a secretary were overtaken by the suspects and bound with duct tape.

The suspects then took the owner’s house keys and left the employees in the building while they went to ransack his home in the 98000 block of Keeler Avenue, police said. It was not immediately clear whether anything was taken.

Both victims were able to escape their restraints and go to a neighboring business, where they called police at 12:11 p.m., police said. Neither of them was injured.

By the time officers arrived, the suspects had fled the area, police said. They were described as three males wearing sunglasses and baseball caps.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the identity of the suspects is asked to call the Skokie Police Department at (847) 982-5900 or the Crime Tip hotline at (847) 933-8477.