Suspects sought in 13 armed robberies committed in a day on Northwest, West Sides

Police are searching for a group of men who allegedly committed 13 armed robberies in one day this month on the Northwest and West sides.

One holdup occurred about 7:40 p.m. March 14 in the 2600 block of West Fletcher Avenue.

Then on March 16, the group committed a string of robberies starting at 6 a.m. in the Austin neighborhood that lasted until about 1:30 p.m. and stretched throughout the Hermosa, Logan Square, Avondale and Portage Park neighborhoods, Chicago police said.

In each incident, the four or five men armed with rifles, handguns and knives, approached victims on the street and either threatened them or struck them before taking their belongings and fleeing, police said.

According to police, the armed robberies on March 16 happened at the these locations and times:

• 1600 block of North Linder Avenue about 6:05 a.m.
• 1700 block of North Lotus Avenue about 6:10 a.m.
• 4200 block of West Armitage Avenue about 6:15 a.m.
• 2300 block of North Springfield Avenue about 10 a.m.
• 2800 block of North Harding Avenue about 10:20 a.m.
• 2300 block of North Lawndale Avenue about 10:30 a.m.
• 2000 block of North Campbell Avenue about 11:50 a.m.
• 2600 block of North Mozart Street about noon
• 3000 block of North Spaulding Avenue about 12:10 p.m.
• 4800 block of West Hutchinson Avenue about 1:15 p.m.
• 2900 block of North Ridgeway Avenue about 1:30 p.m.
• 3700 block of West George Street about 1:30 p.m.
• 2700 block of North Lawndale Avenue about 1:40 p.m.

During the robbery in the 2900 block of North Ridgeway Avenue, the victim, a 39-year-old woman, was in her car when four men approached her and one of them fired shots. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, police said.

The suspects were described as Black men between 18 to 30 years old, around 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-tall, and slim builds. They each wore black hooded sweatshirts, black pants and black masks during the robberies, police said.

Some of the incidents happened in the Shakespeare and Jefferson Park police districts, where robberies have increased by about 40% this year. The others occurred in the Grand Central police districts, where robberies are up by about 50%, according to police statistics.

Citywide, robberies are up 3% this year, while overall crime has dropped by about 12%.