Multiple couples robbed at gunpoint in Lincoln Park as city's holdups escalate
CHICAGO - Multiple couples were robbed at gunpoint in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago in two separate incidents Sunday as crime continues to escalate in the Democratic-run major city.
In one incident, three robbers approached a man and woman as they strolled in the 2600 block of North Burling at around 2:25 a.m., according to police.
After one of the robbers pulled a gun and demanded they give up their belongings, one of the victims tried to kick the robber before the thieves escaped in a dark-colored vehicle.
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In another incident that took place shortly afterward in the 500 block of West Belden around 3 a.m., three men robbed a man and a woman at gunpoint before fleeing in a black sedan.
The robberies were the latest of a series of robbery incidents that have occurred almost daily on the North Side and downtown within the past week.
The John Hancock Center, and partial view of the Chicago Skyline looking South, as photographed from atop the Lincoln Park Zoo Lagoon, in Chicago, Illinois on MAY 24, 2013. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Last Monday, three to four men sporting ski masks spilled out of a black SUV in the 400 black of West Arlington while brandishing a gun, according to a Chicago police spokesperson.
While a man and woman, both 31, were seated in their car, one of the perpetrators reportedly entered their back seat and stole their things before speeding off down Lakeview Avenue around 10:50 p.m.
A man exercising in Chicago's Lincoln Park. (Henryk Sadura via Getty Images)
Around 11:10 that same night, three armed men in masks came up to a couple in Lincoln Park from behind and demanded they get on the ground, police said. The couple in their late 20s obeyed the demands of the robbers, who stole their property before fleeing the scene in a tinted dark-colored SUV.
Robbery reports have surged 15% in 2022, according to Chicago police records. Holdups have gone up 11% since 2020 and 2019, though they decreased 10% compared to 2018.
A Chicago Police officer monitors the scene after a shooting in Chicago, Illinois, on March 14, 2021. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP / Getty Images)
fox 32 chicagMore than a dozen victims were shot in Chicago over the weekend, according to Chicago police data released Monday morning.
In total, there were 15 reported shooting incidents and 20 shooting victims, which included at least three juveniles. Police said at least three people were murdered in the weekend gun violence.
Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed reporting.
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