Suspects sought in armed-robbery spree on Northwest Side

An early-morning armed-robbery spree on the Northwest Side has police searching for several suspects believed to be driving a stolen car.

The robberies — at least nine of them — all occurred in a span of about six hours, starting just before midnight Sunday, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said at a Monday morning news conference.

All were in CPD’s 17th district, which is north of Belmont Avenue, bounded roughly by Cicero Avenue on the west and the Chicago River on the east.

Johnson said the suspects — two to four of them — are in their late teens or early twenties. They have collected video evidence showing them wearing hooded sweatshirts and riding in a dark-colored Nissan Sentra, but Johnson said police won’t release the surveillance video yet because it would compromise the investigation.

“It looks like it’s at random right now,” Johnson said. “I would encourage everybody to pay attention to their surroundings.”

The number of robberies in such a short period of time indicates the suspects had planned the attacks, Johnson said. No one was injured in any of the robberies, police said.

The last attempted robbery took place around 6 a.m., CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said after Johnson’s press conference. In that incident, the suspects tried to steal a limo while the engine was running, but were unsuccessful. They struggled with the driver, then fled.

Guglielmi said the department has added extra undercover surveillance in the area.