Chaos erupted in Chicago as armed robbers targeted a Walgreens on the Gold Coast, and two teenagers launched a crime spree with a series of armed robberies across Chicago, including another Walgreens in Andersonville, officials said.
During a late Sunday heist, two masked men bound and robbed Walgreens staffers at gunpoint at 933 N. State St. location. The thieves, clad in black and their features obscured by COVID-19 masks, demanded an employee "open the door" and then proceeded to bind the employees. The pair commandeered roughly $10,000, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
The crime wave continued when two teenagers were nabbed post-haste while exiting another Walgreens at 5440 N. Clark St., after brandishing weapons and prompting an on-the-scene 911 call by a witness who observed their ski-masked entrance. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) lauded the "involvement of the anonymous neighbor who called and the 20th District Police Department for their quick and courageous response to this matter," in a statement obtained by Block Club Chicago.
The apprehended adolescents, a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, face a slew of charges, including multiple counts of felony armed robbery, carjacking, and weapon infractions. They are believed to be responsible for a series of other robberies on both the north and south sides of the city, terrorizing local convenience stores with their brazen acts. Their arrest capped a city-wide spree that included a carjacking in Englewood and robberies in Bridgeport and Rogers Park, turning a routine Monday into a maelstrom of unchecked aggression and fear.
Authorities confirmed that the older teen was charged as an adult and is expected to face justice on Wednesday in bond court. The younger, accused of a string of convenience store hold-ups, including two in Rogers Park, counts the days until his judgment as a juvenile. Police continue their search for the unapprehended Gold Coast robbers whose descriptions have been widely circulated.
