Chicago police warn of Near North Side muggings

The Chicago Police Department released a community alert Monday night warning of an increase in strong arm robbery in River North.
In each of the incidents, the alert said, multiple offenders approached people walking on the sidewalk in the late night and early morning, punched them, pushed them, or threw them to the ground, and took belongings from them.
The offenders may have driven a dark, four-door vehicle, the report said. The first incident took place Aug. 22 in the 400 block of North Wabash Avenue at 1:30 a.m.. Another took place in the 0-100 block of East Illinois Street on Sept. 13 at 1:45 a.m., and a third took place in the 0-100  block of East Ohio Street on Sept. 18 at 11 p.m.
CPD officials suggest pedestrians stay in well lit areas at night, or refrain from walking alone, and call 911 to report any suspicious people, vehicles or activity. If attacked, they recommend providing a detailed description of the offender (Like the description of the offenders the Police failed to provide for this community alert), including vehicle description and license plate information. Like the description of the offenders the Police failed to provide for this community alert

Shootings in Chicago August 30, 31, 2013

Man shot in Logan Square

Before midnight Friday night, a man walked into Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and said he had been shot in the 2700 block of North Western Avenue about 6 hours earlier. He had a foot wound and police weren't able to find a crime scene.

Woman shot in Albany Park

Before 4 a.m. a woman was shot in the 4400 block of North Christiana Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood. Police

31-year-old man shot in Austin

Someone inside a light-colored SUV shot a 31-year-old man who was standing on a corner in the South Austin neighborhood about 4 a.m. He shot near Chicago and Menard avenues and taken to West Suburban Medical Center with wounds to his chest and right arm. Police said he was transferred to Stroger hospital in critical condition.

19-year-old man shot in Pilsen

In  Pilsen about 3:20 a.m. a 19-year-old man was shot in an attack. Police said the man shooter shouted the name of a gang before shooting toward the man, who was hit in the buttocks and leg. He was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

22 year old shot in Near North

A 22-year-old man was in the intersection of Orleans and Division streets, when a gunman dressed in all red shot him in the head.
The gunman then fled eastbound from the intersection.
There was no information available about the man's condition.

21 year old man shot in Gresham

A man was shot in the city's Gresham neighborhood.
That shooting happened shortly after 9:15 a.m. on the 500 block of West 81st Street.
The man, 21, suffered a wound to his left shoulder and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where his condition was stabilized

Shootings in Chicago August 8, 2013

31-year-old man shot in the Cabrini Green

At about 9:45 p.m., a 31-year-old man was shot in the head in the Cabrini Green homes blocks from North Michigan Avenue. He was sitting on a fence in the 900 block of North Cambridge Avenue with friends when someone shot toward him

2 men shot in Roseland

At about 9:45 p.m., two men were shot in the 11200 block of South Normal Avenue in the Roseland neighborhood. A 24-year-old man was shot in the left leg and a 48-year-old man was hit in the left leg

41-year-old man shot in Washington Park

Someone shot a 41-year-old man around 10:30 p.m. in the 6000 block of South Indiana Avenue in the Washington Park neighborhood. He told police he heard shots and felt pain and then walked into Saint Bernard Hospital

23-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man shot in South Shore

A 23-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man was shot around 11:05 p.m. in the 6700 block of South Paxton Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood. The woman was in critical condition with chest wounds and the man was stable with an arm wound. Both were being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Man shot in Austin

A man, 23, was shot in the chest and back and taken to Loyola University Medical Center about 11:30 p.m., Greer said. He was shot in the 1100 block of North Waller Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood.

31-year-old man shot in Englewood

A 31-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his shoulder walked into Metro South Medical Center, brought there by his girlfriend. He told police he had been shot near 71st Street and Normal Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood.

Near North sexual assault

A 42-year-old woman was attacked inside a Near North business and sexually assaulted Tuesday night.
About 10:15 p.m., the woman was closing the business in the 0-100 block of East Ilinois Street when a male suspect said he had forgotten something inside. When the woman let him in, he pulled out a knife, forced her to the back of the business and sexually assaulted her.
He fled before police arrived.
The woman was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after the attack.
The attacker had been in the store in the 0-100 block of East Illinois Street earlier in the evening Tuesday and returned around 10 p.m. saying he had left something in the restroomt. The woman let him in and the man pulled a knife and forced her into the restroom in back of the store.
He trapped her in a stall, smoked crack cocaine and assaulted her, at one point stopping her from escaping. The woman then heard her husband walking around inside the store and screamed for help. The husband went to the back of the store and began fighting with the attacker, suffering cuts to his head.
The attacker ran to the front of the store but found the door locked. The husband grabbed a bat and started chasing the attacker, but the attacker was finally able to grab keys off the counter and unlock the front door and flee east on Illinois Street.
The attacker was described as a black man with a medium complexion, 30 to 40,  5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9, and weighing between 160 to 180 pounds. He had an Afro type hairstyle and was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes

1 shot, 1 shot dead in Near North

The most recent shooting happened in the Near North neighborhood - just north of Chicago Avenue on Cambridge Avenue. Two men, one 25 and the other either 23 or 24, were shot and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The older of the two was dropped off there and died of his wounds, and the other was taken there in an ambulance with a wound to the leg

Man sought in Near North Side sex assaults

Police are searching for a man in connection with a pair of sexual assaults a few blocks apart on the Near North Side.
Around 5:40 a.m. Sunday, a 26-year-old woman was walking in the 1000 block of North Dearborn Street when a man approached her from behindEstrada.
The man dragged her into an alley and threw her to the ground. A nearby witness was able to scare off the attacker. The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, he said.
Another woman was attacked in the evening hours of June 17 on the 1100 block of North Clark Street,about two blocks away from the most recent assault. The attacker approached that woman from behind as well and pulled the victim into an alley and sexually assaulted her.
Police described the attacker as a black man between the ages of 35 to 45. He has a dark brown complexion and is about 5 feet, 9 inches to 6 feet, 2 inches tall. He weighs between 240 to 260 pounds.
The attacker was last seen wearing a dark blue tank top, white shirt and blue jean shorts

Women fend off purse snatcher, man charged

A South Side man was arrested after a woman and two of her female friends fended him off when he tried to snatch the woman's purse in the Near North neighborhood Thursday evening.
Gregory Busby, 48, of the 100 block of West 91st Street, was charged with several counts of attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery in a public place.
The incident happened about 8:15 p.m. Thursday on the 600 block of North Dearborn Street as the three women were walking on the street
Busby attacked three females and attempted to snatch one of their purses, but the three were able to fend him off and he fled on foot.
Shortly after, Near North District officers responded to the call and put the man's description out on police radio.
Near North bicycle unit officers who had also responded and heard the man's description were able to spot him running away. The man was cornered on Ontario Street between State Street and Wabash Avenue.
"It was good police work,".
After Busby was identified by the women as the attacker, he was arrested and charged.

Man dies after jumping in river with bricks

A man in his early 20s was pronounced dead today after he apparently jumped into the Chicago River on the Near North Side weighted down with bricks tied around his waist.
The man was seen by someone on the bridge on the 1100 block of West North AvenueMirabelli.
The person who saw the man called police at about 4:45 a.m. to let them know that the man was threatening to jump and that he appeared to have bricks tied around his waist, Mirabelli said. Before police could arrive, the man jumped into the river.
After jumping into the water, police arrived and divers pulled him from the water at about 5 a.m. The incident is being investigated as a suicide.

Shootings in Chicago- April 30, 2013

18, 22, 23 year old men shot in South Shore

An 18-year-old man, a 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were shot on the 2000 block of East 71st Street 7 p.m. The 23-year-old refused medical attention for a graze wound.
The victims were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Stroger Hospital

16 year old boy, men 40 and 44 shot in Roseland

Three male victims, ages 16, 40 and 44, were shot on the 10800 block of South Princeton Avenue at 6:13 p.m. They were taken to Stroger and Metro South Hospital, officials said. The condition of the 16-year-old had stablized, and the men were listed in serious-to-critical condition

22 year old shot in Uptown

In the city's Uptown neighborhood, a 22-year-old man was shot near Windsor Avenue and Sheridan Road 5:16 p.m. That man was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his leg

30 year old man shot in Englewood

A man, 30, was shot on the 5500 block of South Union Avenue and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital

16 year old girl shot in Bronzeville

A 16-year-old girl was shot on the 700 block of East Oakwood Drive at 7:21 p.m. She was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center with a wound to her arm

 16-year-old boy shot in Englewood

A 16-year-old boy was shot in a drive-by shooting about 11:50 p.m. in the 100 block of West 68^th Street, Greer said. The boy was taken to Stroger, where his condition was stabilized.

2 men shot in Englewood

At about 11:45 p.m., two men were shot in the 800 block of West 51st Street. A 20-year-old man was taken in good condition to St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, . Another man, who is in his 20s, was also shot

24 year old woman shot in Near North

A 24-year-old woman sustained a graze wound to the shoulder about 10:30 p.m., in the 500 block of West Iowa Street, Greer said. The woman was take to Northwestern, where her condition was stabilized.

25-year-old shot in Washington Park

At about 8:30 p.m., a 25-year-old man was shot multiple times in Washington Park, in the 5700 block of South Russell Drive. The man was taken to Stroger, where his condition was stabilized.

30-year-old man shot in Englewood

At about 4:30 p.m., a 30-year-old man was shot in the 1000 block of West Garfield Boulevard and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital

Woman killed by truck in West Loop

A woman crossing a West Loop street was struck and fatally injured by a tanker truck this morning, authorities said.
The victim was identified as Catherine Cong Ye, 24, whose last confirmed address was in the 1200 block of Northampton Street in State College, Penn.. She was declared dead at 8:48 a.m. on the scene of the crash, near Halsted and Randolph Streets.
The victim is believed to have lived on the Near North Side and was heading to work on the Near West Side

3 women, 14-year-old girl charged in Near North robbery

Authorities have charged three women and a 14-year-old girl in connection with a weekend robbery in the Near North neighborhood.
About 1:10 a.m. Sunday, the four aproached two 21-year-old women in the first block of East Grand Avenue and robbed them.

Erica D. Riley, 18, of the 16700 block of Butterfield Drive in south suburban Country Club Hills, Leah E. Robinson, 22, of the 6900 block of South Oglesby Avenue, and Aliyah L. Thompson, 22, of the 8500 block of South University Avenue and the 14-year-old, police said. All are charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor battery.
The robbery began with Thompson striking one of the women on the rear, pulling her hair and knocking her to the ground, according to a police report. The other victim was jumped and knocked to the ground, with her face smashing into the pavement.
The robbers made off with the second victim's duffel bag, which had a wallet and clothing inside, and went to a nearby Subway sandwich shop at 16 W. Ohio St. Officers who responded to emergency calls about the robbery tracked down the robbers at the Subway, and the victims were able to identify them as their attackers.
Witnesses also identified the robbers, according to police.

Diners beware: Black youth trying to upgrade their cell-phone plan at your expense

Because it's too cold outside for wilding/flash mobbing, a group of three or four young black men has been operating a cell phone theft scam at restaurants in the Loop and Near North Side.
Three of the thefts took place in less than three hours on Wednesday.
The group members enter a restaurant, and when spotting a diner's cell phone on the table they approach and present fliers claiming they are raising money for their basketball team.
The members place a flier atop the victim's cell phone while talking, then when retrieving the flier grab the cell phone as well.
The similar thefts have taken place at 4:40 p.m. on Dec. 31 on the 300 block of North Michigan Avenue, 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 2 on the 600 block of North Fairbanks Court, 6:10 p.m. Jan. 2 on the 100 block of North Wabash Avenue and 8:40 p.m. Jan 2 on the 400 block of East Ontario Street.
In one of the thefts a group member asked restaurant staff for a glass of water before another member grabbed a cell phone and fled.
Police said in general the suspects are described as three or four males blacks, age 14-25, working together. They have been seen getting into a tan 4-door hardtop, possibly "Buick-style,".
The alert warns victims not to chase a robber but to take careful note of any unique physical characteristics like scars, a limp bulging eyes, tattoos, birth marks, missing teeth, extra or missing limbs, broken finger nails, crossed eyes, wandering eye, elephantist, or any other characteristics except race and call police immediately. If there are other witnesses, request contact information. If anyone wishes to donate to the under privileged youth's basketball team they can text the amount of their donation, along with their credit card info to their previously owned phones.

Read more here- City plans free Wi-Fi in all parks, public spaces- Making laptop, I-Pad and Smart Phone users easy pickings for the criminal element
Mayor Emanuel Says Recent Rash of I-Phone Robberies on CTA is Simple people Ungrading Their Phones

Robbers bind security guard with duct tape on North Side

Five robbers bound a security guard with duct tape, then stole copper wiring from a business on the North Side.
The guard was working at a business in the 2300 block of North Elston Avenue when the robbers, one of them with a gun, approached him around 4 a.m. Wednesday
After binding the guard with the tape, one of the robbers struck the guard in the head before he and the others made off with copper wiring.
The guard was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Suspect in Mag Mile stabbing had 60 arrests, 9 felony convictions- Liberals and Piss Bums a lethal Chicago Downtown combination

Just one day after attending a meeting to reintroduce felons into their communities, a recent parolee with a decades-long rap sheet and history of violence stabbed an Oak Brook doctor during an attempted holdup at a Gold Coast restaurant over the weekend.
Jimmy Harris, 56, had been freed from prison just eight days earlier.
Harris, who has past gang ties, has at least 60 arrests and nine felony convictions dating to the late 1970s
Harris, who was living at the Pacific Garden Mission homeless shelter since his release from prison, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint for the attack on Dr. Mir Jafar Shah and a bartender Saturday night after the Lights Festival attended by tens of thousands along the Magnificent Mile.
After an evening out with family to watch the festival, Shah, a suburban oncologist, went into the bathroom inside the Chicago Westin's Grill on the Alley restaurant, where Harris approached him from behind and announced a robbery. Harris stabbed the doctor in the right side of his neck and face, Scaduto said, and as the victim turned and started screaming for help, Harris punched him in the eye.
Shah tried to grab Harris' arms to "prevent him from cutting" him any further and tried to pull Harris out of the bathroom so his cries for help could be heard. Shah was finally able to break free and run back into the restaurant.
Moments later, witnesses saw Harris leaving the hotel with blood on his hands and clothes and holding a knife. The bartender at the restaurant chased Harris out the door and tried to stop him on the street, but Harris turned and stabbed him once in the chest.
Harris was arrested in a bathroom at the nearby Cheesecake Factory restaurant, where police recovered a bloody knife.
Shah remained in Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Monday with what prosecutors said were stab wounds to the neck and face and blurry vision from the punch to the eye. The bartender was released from the hospital after receiving stitches for the chest wound.
Harris' latest arrest came a day after he attended the Summit of Hope event at Malcolm X College, where social service officials offer assistance to former offenders in an attempt to help them "reintegrate safely into society," according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Harris was released from prison Nov. 9 after a 2007 armed robbery in which authorities said Harris stole and later broke several bottles of rum from a Near West Side grocery. While trying to escape, according to court records, Harris used the glass shards to cut a store security guard.

Chicago man, 56, charged in stabbing at North Michigan Avenue hotel

Authorities have charged a Chicago resident with attempted murder in connection with a stabbing Saturday evening near the front of a North Michigan Avenue hotel.
Jimmy Harris, 56, has been charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery with intent to do great bodily harm and one count of aggravated unlawful restraint.
The charges stem from an attempted robbery Saturday evening in which a 67-year-old man was stabbed in the neck Saturday evening near the front of the Westin Hotel.
A second man was cut trying to stop the assailant from fleeing.
The incident began shortly before 8 p.m. when the 67-year-old man was stabbed during an attempted robbery.
A 35-year-old man was cut in the chest as he tried to capture the assailant.
Police took Harris into custody following the incident. A weapon was also recovered.
The 67-year-old was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, Greer said. The 35-year-old was taken to Northwestern in good condition.

2 hurt in stabbing at North Michigan Avenue hotel while visiting for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival,

A 67-year-old man was stabbed in the neck Saturday evening near the front of the Westin Hotel on North Michigan Avenue, and a second man was cut trying to stop the assailant from fleeing.
The incident began shortly before 8 p.m. when the 67-year-old man was stabbed during an attempted robbery.
A 35-year-old man was cut in the chest as he tried to stop the assailant from fleeing.
Police took a 56-year-old man into custody following the incident. A weapon was also recovered.
The 67-year-old was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, Greer said. The 35-year-old was taken to Northwestern in good condition.
The 67-year-old man stabbed at a North Michigan Avenue hotel Saturday night had been downtown with seven family members for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival

Man shot in Near North

A 21-year-old man was also shot in the abdomen on Saturday afternoon. The shooting took place at about 4:30 p.m. on the 500 block of West Elm Street, and the man was taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Man charged in fight outside of Near North bars

A 24-year-old man was charged with aggravated battery to an officer after a weekend brawl on Division Street that left two men stabbed and another badly beaten.

Eric F. Ybarra, of the 2200 block of North Major Avenue, was charged with resisting a peace officer and aggravated battery to a peace officer. He also had an outstanding warrant.
Early Saturday morning, Ybarra was arrested on the 0-99 block of West Division Street after a police officer tried to break up a fight and he "violently" resisted.
The officer suffered non-life threatening injuries, but two men were stabbed and another was badly beaten.
According to preliminary reports, the fight started on Division Street in front of several bars and spilled over to State Street.
The three injured men were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The two stabbed, ages 31 and 36, were both in critical condition.
The person who was beaten up is the brother of one of the men who was stabbed

Two stabbed, one beaten in fight outside Near North bars

Two men were stabbed, another badly beaten and a fourth arrested early Sunday morning after a fight on Division Street spilled over onto State Street.
An officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries that didn't require hospitalization while trying to make the arrest on a 24-year-old man.
The man who was arrested violently resisted arrest after police arrived to the fight.
The confrontation started after 4 a.m. on Division Stree, and the three men injured and the fourth in custody are all gang members.
The three with injuries were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The two stabbed, 31 and 36, are both in critical condition.

Woman stabbed on Near North Side

A woman who was stabbed near Holy Name Cathedral this afternoon on the Near North Side was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Paramedics were called to the intersection of Chicago Avenue and State Street at 5:35 p.m. for a woman who had been stabbed.
She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition