Police are warning food delivery drivers of three armed robberies reported on the same Near West Side block last week.
In each case, the suspects approach the drivers, display a handgun and take the delivery, Chicago police said in a community alert.
One of the robberies occurred about 2:20 p.m. on Jan 22 in the 1800 block of West Maypole, police said. Another occurred the same day around 9 p.m.
A third robbery occurred on the same block at 3:20 p.m. on Jan. 24, police said.
The suspects were described as two males wearing black face masks and black clothing, police said.
Anyone with information on the robberies was asked to call area detectives at (312) 744-8263.
Groups that advocate for gig workers in the city have called for additional safety measures after recent attacks — some of them fatal — against delivery and ride-hailing drivers.
Earlier this month, a ride-hailing driver was critically wounded in an attempted carjacking in the 900 block of North LeClaire Avenue in Austin, police said.
Last month, Lyft driver Adriana Arocha-Duque was fatally shot in the 4800 block of West Thomas Street in the same neighborhood.
Another driver was killed in a shooting weeks earlier. Mohammed Al Hejoj was driving his black 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV with four passengers in the 1700 block of North Lotus Avenue about 5:40 p.m. on Dec. 3 when someone opened fire.
At a protest at Uber’s local base on Dec. 14, a driver in a Santa suit hauls a naughty or nice list. Drivers and their relatives gathered after the Dec. 3 shooing death of Mohammed Al Hejoj in Austin to call for improved communication and safety for food delivery drivers and ride-hail drivers.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times (file)
The following week, Al Hejoj’s family joined drivers with the Chicago Gig Alliance to demand better pay and improved safety.
In November, Tramon Thomas, 31, was killed and his brother, Terrance Thomas Jr., 32, wounded in a shooting in Humboldt Park as they were delivering food for Uber Eats.
In another incident, a delivery driver was shot while trying to stop a holdup in the 3800 block of West 79th Street in Ashburn on the South Side in August.
The Chicago Gig Alliance will hold a vigil in front of City Hall on Thursday morning for drivers of ride-hailing services who were victims of recent attacks and call for increased protections for those workers.
