CHICAGO – Chicago police are searching for a suspect who targeted four businesses in Little Italy and the South Loop Friday evening.
“It's obviously scary, but I've never had any problems with armed robberies,” said Howard Blair, owner of Sid's Clothing and Hats.
Blair admitted that while it was alarming that there were two armed robberies near his store on Friday evening, incidents like this are rare in the 65 years he has been in business.
Other workers in the area shared that feeling.
“We've definitely heard of criminal activity here and there, not as bad as armed robbery,” said Vitamin Shoppe employee Alex Gonzalez.
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Chicago police said four businesses in Little Italy and the South Loop were targeted between 6:23 pm and 7:02 pm Friday.
The first incident happened in the 1100 block of West Taylor Street where a Subway employee said his co-workers were affected. About 25 minutes later, another business in the 600 block of West Roosevelt Road was hit.
Eight minutes later, a robbery occurred in the 1400 block of West Taylor followed by the suspect's final stop in the 500 block of West Roosevelt Road four minutes later.
CPD believes all incidents are connected.
Police said the suspect entered the business, declared himself a criminal and displayed a weapon. In three of the four incidents, the suspect gave the employees a letter that did not indicate that he was robbing the store.
“We're open here and we always have open doors, so something like that can affect…even the customers who come in,” Gonzalez said.
Meanwhile, Blair said he is worried about these incidents that happened while the sun was rising. Although he was lucky enough to avoid such incidents, he said he has taken steps to close his shop early.
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“I started doing that a few years ago because I didn't want to walk after dark. Try to get out of here and be safe,” Blair said.
Gonzalez said his managers at the Vitamin Shoppe have established procedures to follow if he or his colleagues feel that their safety has been compromised. He sincerely hopes that no one working in this area will face any armed robbery again.
“There's a lot of please keep the doors locked or only open, but when will we know?” Gonzalez said.
Police say the suspect managed to steal money from two businesses. No one has been arrested yet.
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