Police release video of pair robbing West Side restaurant patrons at gunpoint

Police say this surveillance video shows two men wanted for a robbery Sept. 13, 2020, in the 300 block of North Laramie Avenue. | Chicago police

Police on Friday released surveillance video of two men wanted for robbing restaurant patrons at gunpoint earlier this month in Austin on the West Side.

Video shows the pair enter a business at 10:40 p.m. Sept. 13 in the 300 block of North Laramie Avenue while one of them pulls out a pistol, according to Chicago police.

The gunman, in a black hooded-sweatshirt, and another man corral three patrons against a wall and take belongings from their pockets, the video shows. They appear to leave without injuring anyone.

The robbery was at Baba’s Famous Steak and Lemonade, 344 N. Laramie Ave., according to a police source.

Police asked anyone with information to call Area Four detectives at 312-746-8253.

Chicago police’s 15th District, which includes Austin, has seen a 14% increase in robberies this year compared with the same time in 2019, according to official police statistics. The same year-to-year increase in robberies has been recorded citywide, police say.

The district has recorded 352 robberies in 2020 through Sept. 20, compared with 308 robberies in the same time frame in 2019. However, robberies in 2020 are roughly at the same level they were in 2018 in the district.

Police say these surveillance photos show two men wanted for a robbery Sept. 13, 2020, in the 300 block of North Laramie Avenue.

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