Police Warn Of Carjackers Mugging Drivers At Gunpoint Near The Lakefront

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 17, 2016 9:36PM

Robbers have been holding up drivers at gunpoint near the southern lakefront, police warned in an alert issued Wednesday afternoon.

In a spate of robberies in the 1st police District, which includes the Loop and the Near South Side, a group of men pulled up next to parked cars, blocked the cars from moving away, and then approached the passenger's side with handguns. They would then force the passengers out of their cars, steal the cars, and then flee the scene while companions of the robbers drove off in their own car.

Two of the handguns had red laser lights, victims told the police. And in a separate armed robbery, a man approached a parked car on foot, held up the passengers with a handgun with a red laser light, and "demanded everything."

Each of these incidents took place after midnight on the Near South Side: One in the 3000 block of South Fort Dearborn, just south of McCormick Place on the lakefront, on Aug. 2 at 1:57 a.m.; one in the 3000 block of South Dearborn on Aug. 9 at 12:30 a.m.; and a third in the 3000 block of South Dr. King Drive on Aug. 10 at 3:45 a.m. The robbers were described to police as black men between 15 and 30 years old, wearing hooded sweatshirts and, in one instance, masks.