A man walking along South Constance Avenue in South Shore was surrounded by four attackers who kicked him, punched him and beat him with his own cane before making off with it, according to a police report. The daylight attack happened around 2:30 p.m. on August 2 in the 7100 block of South Constance Avenue, and Chicago police are still searching for the four suspects nearly two weeks later.
Investigators say the group stomped on the man during the assault, according to the police report cited by ABC7 Chicago. After the beating, the suspects took the victim's cane and fled the scene. Chicago police have since shared photographs of the four suspects and are asking anyone who recognizes them to come forward.
Detectives Lead the Hunt for Four Suspects
The case falls under the jurisdiction of Chicago Police Department's Area One Detectives, who are directing the investigation into the beating. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 312-747-8380 or submit an anonymous tip online through CPDTIP.com, a portal that allows residents to upload surveillance footage, photos and other tip details tied to public suspect alerts.
The 7100 block of South Constance Avenue sits within Beat 332 of CPD's 3rd District, known as Grand Crossing, which is commanded by Commander John Cleggett and stretches across South Shore, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, Washington Park, Englewood and Greater Grand Crossing. The block has drawn police attention before — in January 2024, the 3rd District issued a community alert warning residents of a robbery pattern targeting pedestrians on the 7000 and 7100 blocks of South Constance Avenue.
A Neighborhood With a History of Group Street Attacks
This is not the first time South Shore residents have dealt with a violent street assault carried out by multiple suspects. In June, a 26-year-old man was struck in the head with a baseball bat and grazed by gunfire on the 6800 block of South Merrill Avenue, in an incident where police also sought multiple suspects. Back in November 2024, CPD issued a community alert warning of a series of daytime and evening armed robberies committed by groups of one to four young men who demanded personal belongings from pedestrians, often while masked.
Under Illinois law, the circumstances of the Constance Avenue attack could carry serious legal consequences if suspects are identified and charged. Simple battery is typically a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois, but state statute 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05 elevates the offense to aggravated battery — a Class 3 felony punishable by two to five years in prison and fines up to $25,000 — when a deadly weapon is used in the attack or the victim is elderly or has a physical disability. It remains unclear whether the victim's age or any disability factored into how charges might eventually be classified, and CPD has not disclosed his condition.
Crime Trends Paint a Mixed Picture for South Shore
The attack lands amid a broader, complicated crime picture for South Shore. The lakefront South Side neighborhood, home to roughly 53,588 residents where about 74% rent their homes, recorded 3,431 total reported crimes in 2025 — a 10% drop from the year before, according to CPD data cited by Wikipedia. Even with that decline, the neighborhood's violent crime rate remains roughly 16.78 incidents per 1,000 residents, nearly three times Chicago's citywide rate of 6.07 per 1,000, per figures compiled by eufy.
The Constance Avenue beating adds to a string of recent violent incidents that have put South Shore in the headlines this month. Just two days before the suspect photos were released, Hoodline reported on a burglary suspect with 10 prior felonies who leapt from a third-floor window during an arrest attempt, and a separate case in which a South Shore woman shot a man who tried to pry open her window screen overnight. Detectives have not said whether any of the four Constance Avenue suspects have been identified since the photos went public, leaving that question open as the investigation continues.
