Jan. 29--Chicago police are warning South Loop residents of someone who has been knocking women down on the street at night in recent weeks and stealing their purses or cell phones.
The robber has gone up to women from behind, pushed them or punched them in the face, sending them to the ground, and then stolen their purses or cell phones, according to a police alert. Each robbery has been committed by one man, but it's not certain that the same man has committed every attack.
The most recent robbery took place Tuesday at 8:12 p.m. in the 1600 block of South Prairie Avenue. The other robberies have taken place:
--Jan. 13 about 9:12 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Wabash Avenue;
--Jan. 16 about 10:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Indiana Avenue;
--And Thursday about 7:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of South Indiana.
Various descriptions were given for the robber, with the description for the most recent attacker in being that of a black man, between the ages of 30 and 35, standing about 5-foot-6 and weighing around 200 pounds. In the first robbery, the robber was described as between a black man between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10, weighing between 150 and 170 pounds and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black jeans, police said. No detailed descriptions were available for the attacker in the second and third robberies, but the attacker in the sceond robbery was described as about 5-foot-10, weighing about 160 pounds.
Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call Area Central detectives at 312-737-8384.
