Armed Robberies Followed By Unarmed Carjackings: Police

NILES, IL — Police said separate groups of robbers targeted several people Thursday in Niles and Morton Grove. Three men in a stolen SUV stole two purses at gunpoint before a pair of unarmed men hijacked a car on their second attempt, according to police.

The first incident took place shortly before 12:15 p.m., when a 73-year-old Morton Grove woman was targeted as she pulled into her garage in the 7900 block of Lyons Avenue, police said.

Two of the three men in a stolen white Honda CRV jumped out and both pointed handguns at her as they grabbed at her purse and demanded her keys. The third man stood behind the car and did not brandish a gun, police said.

The Morton Grove woman handed over the purse, keeping her keys in her pocket as the men got back into the SUV and fled. One of the gunman was said to have braided hair and worn a black jacket and possibly a yellow shirt, but no detailed descriptions of the other men were available.

Niles and Morton Grove police believe the same trio was responsible for another incident a few minutes later and a half-mile south due to similar vehicle and suspect descriptions.

Around 12:15 p.m., a light-colored SUV pulled in front of a motorist forcing her to stop in the 8000 block of Ballard Road, according to police. One man got out.

Police said he pointed a gun at the driver, a 60-year-old Park Ridge woman, and demanded she hand over her purse. She did, and the man got back into the SUV and fled west on Ballard Road, according to police.

The gunman was described as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, in his 20s and black with an average build, police said. No detailed descriptions were available of the two men who remained in the car.

Niles police said the next incident took place less than three hours later and 4 miles south.

Two men walked up to a 62-year-old Niles man sitting in his car in the 6600 block of North Oak Park Avenue and told him to get out around 2:30 p.m., according to police.

Police said the driver refused and began to yell as they began to fight over his car. His attackers gave up and began to run away.

Less than a block away, they ran into a 30-year-old woman who had just gotten out of her car in her nearby garage in the 6700 block of West Albion Avenue, police said.

The two men demanded her keys and drove away west in her car after she handed them over, according to police.

A short time later, Chicago police found her car abandoned in the 4900 block of North McVicker Avenue, in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.

One of the carjackers was described as between 25 to 35 years old, white or Hispanic and tall with long brown hair, according to police. The other was said to be about 30 years old and white, thin and tall with short brown hair.

Police said neither man appeared to be armed during the incident.