Chicago's Northwest Side was struck by a spree of gunpoint robberies last night at two convenience stores, as reported by NBC Chicago. Police say the first incident happened at approximately 9:53 p.m. on the 5900 block of West Grand in the Belmont Central neighborhood, followed by a second at 11:16 p.m. in the 3200 block of West Diversey in Avondale.
Three armed suspects are reported to have stormed into each store during the armed robberies wielding handguns and making off with cash and cigarettes, yet fortunately escaping without inflicting physical harm on anyone present; although the police have not yet established a connection between the two crimes, both incidents are under active investigation by Area Five detectives per details from an ABC7 Chicago report.
The robberies present an unsettling echo in the night, a stark reminder to the clerks standing behind counters that peace comes on swift winds turning without warning into tempests of peril—the suspects remain at large.
Officials urge the public to provide any information that could lead to the capture of the suspects responsible for the night's trauma; the Chicago Police Department is combing through crime scene evidence and collecting surveillance footage to close the net on the criminals that have now twice over brazenly challenged the city's sense of security.
