CHICAGO – Chicago police are looking for a suspect who attacked four businesses in Little Italy and the South Loop on Friday evening.
“It’s scary, sure, but I’ve never had a problem with armed robberies,” said Howard Blair, owner of Sid’s Clothing and Hats.
Blair acknowledged that while it is alarming that two armed robberies occurred near his store Friday evening, such incidents are rare in his 65 years in business.
Other employees in the area shared that sentiment.
“We’ve definitely heard of other criminal activity here and there, nothing as serious as an armed robbery,” Vitamin Shoppe employee Alex Gonzalez said.
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Chicago police said four businesses in Little Italy and South Loop were targeted Friday between 6:23 p.m. and 7:02 p.m.
The first incident occurred in the 1100 block of West Taylor Street, where a Subway employee said his coworkers were affected. About 25 minutes later, another business in the 600 block of West Roosevelt Road was hit.
Eight minutes after that, a robbery occurred in the 1400 block of West Taylor, followed by the suspect’s final stop in the 500 block of West Roosevelt Road just four minutes later.
CPD believes all incidents are related.
According to police, the suspect entered the businesses, announced the robbery and displayed a weapon. In three of the four incidents, the suspect handed the employees a letter proving that he was robbing the store.
“We are open here and the doors are always open, so something like this can cause concern… even the customers coming in,” Gonzalez said.
Blair, meanwhile, said he was concerned the incidents happened while the sun was still up. While he has been fortunate to avoid these types of incidents, he said he has taken a proactive approach by closing his store early.
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“I started doing that a few years ago, just because I don’t want to go when it’s dark. Try to get out of here and be safe,” Blair said.
Gonzalez said his managers at the Vitamin Shoppe have established procedures to follow if he or his coworkers feel their safety is at risk. He sincerely hopes that no one working in the area will have to deal with armed robberies again.
“It’s a lot, please keep the doors locked or only open, but even then when will we know?” González said.
According to police, the suspect managed to steal money from two companies. No arrests have been made.
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