UKRAINIAN VILLAGE — Surveillance cameras captured two masked gunmen rushing the counter of a Ukrainian Village corner store Saturday morning before holding two men at gunpoint and stealing cash.
The brazen robbery played out at Rio Balsas Market at 1934 W. Chicago Ave. just after 10:30 a.m., despite the streets outside being full of neighborhood residents and shoppers.
The men stormed into the store, one going behind the counter and charging the cashier before pointing a gun at him and demanding cash, said manager Omar Quadri.
The other robber held a customer who was using the store's lottery machine at gunpoint, he said.
A second customer, who was shopping near a back cooler, was not targeted.
“It was very unexpected because a lot of people were out,” Quadri said. “There were tons of people, and then these random a-- two people just walked in.”
The men took an undisclosed amount of cash and drove off in a silver car, said Officer Janel Sedevic, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman.
Police said no injuries were reported, but Quadri said one of the gunmen hit the clerk, who is in his 50s, in his back and shoulder.
“They hit the employee a few times, even though he opened the register for them,” Quadri said. “It was a scary moment for me and my people.”
Quadri, who used to manage a gas station in West Englewood and a restaurant in Rogers Park, said he has witnessed shootings and even been robbed at gunpoint at his previous jobs.
But Saturday’s robbery was the first at the Ukrainian Village store since Quadri became manager more than three years ago, he said.
“Being in this neighborhood for a long time, I thought it got a little bit better, a little bit safer, but it looks like it is not because it was a Saturday morning and it is very unexpected when this happened,” Quadri said.
Stacey Lindeman, who lives above the store, said armed robberies are not uncommon on Winchester Avenue, just north of the store.
“We’ve lived here for four years, and there have been robberies in this area all the time,” Lindeman said.
Luke Sequeria, who also lives above the store, said he still feels safe in the neighborhood despite the robberies.
“I feel pretty safe. We had two friends who got robbed, and they were like, ‘f--- this’ and moved back to the South Side,” Sequeria said.
Quadri believes Saturday’s robbery was random, but said it is not the first time the store has been targeted.
About 10 days earlier, somebody smashed a window in the middle of the night and stole the register.
“There is always going to be kids in the neighborhood trying to put the pressure on the residents,” Quadri said. “I just want everybody to be safe in the neighborhood.”
Chicago Police said nobody has been charged and that Area Central detectives are investigating.
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