Early Monday turned ugly on Chicago’s Near West Side, where two men were attacked in separate incidents about an hour apart, with one victim telling officers that one of his assailants was armed with an axe. Both men were taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County and were listed in good condition, according to police. Officers found one of the victims standing in the middle of the street with multiple injuries as the attackers vanished into the night, and no arrests had been reported as of Monday morning.
Where It Happened
The first attack unfolded around 1 a.m. in the 1300 block of South Jefferson Street, just south of Roosevelt Road and near a large Home Depot. Police said a 40-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk when a man on a bicycle rode up and struck him several times with an unknown object. The victim suffered lacerations to the head and was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, according to CBS News.
Hospital And Response
Both victims were transported to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in the West Side medical corridor. Cook County Health describes Stroger as the system’s flagship hospital and home to one of the nation’s busiest Level I trauma centers, according to Cook County Health. Authorities have not released additional updates on the men’s conditions beyond their initial classification as being in good condition.
Police Investigation And Context
Roughly an hour after the first assault, officers on patrol in the same block found a 44-year-old man standing in the middle of the street with multiple injuries. Police said he reported being attacked by two men and told officers that one of them was carrying an axe. That victim was also taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, according to CBS News. The suspects fled, no one was in custody as of Monday morning, and Belmont Area detectives are leading the investigation.
Similar hatchet or axe-style assaults have been reported in Chicago before, including a 2024 incident at a Southwest Side McDonald’s that authorities said involved a hatchet-like object, as reported by ABC7 Chicago. For Near West Side residents waking up to news of two overnight street attacks, the mention of an axe is likely to stick with them long after police clear the scene.
