A silver vehicle stopped behind her in the left turn lane as she began to cross North Avenue. He was charged by an armed robbery party, including at least one with a rifle.
The gunman watched the intersection looking for witnesses and the police while his companions took away anything of interest from the woman. As a pickup truck stopped at a red light on North Avenue, the man pointed his gun at the driver and motioned for him to cross the intersection. Wisely, the driver obeyed him.
A city surveillance camera recorded everything that happened on September 23rd. The Chicago Office of Communications and Emergency Management refused to release the images when asked to do so under a Freedom of Information Act request several hours later.
This Friday, thanks to pressure from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, the city changed its tune.
After driving away, the crew stopped about a block away and struck the victim in the head with the butt of their rifle.
Police officers reviewing the video radioed descriptions of the men and their vehicle to patrol units. It states that the car’s left headlight was off and the right rear window was broken, probably because the car was stolen and the thieves had to break the glass to get in.
A few minutes later, the robbery team pulled out at least one rifle to rob another woman in the 900 block of West Randolph in the West Loop. The robbers hit her in the face. Around the same time, they encountered another woman near Lake and Elizabeth streets.
A Chicago police sergeant spotted the robbers’ getaway vehicle as they drove through the West Loop. He mentioned it on the radio but didn’t insist on it.