LINCOLN PARK — For eighth-grader Leo Smat, this summer was one of personal growth.
For the first time, the 13-year-old was allowed to ride his bike around the neighborhood and take public transportation with friends, according to his mom, Tina Smat.
"He said, 'Mom, I feel like such a grown up. I get to go out and do something without you.' That was the stage he was in," said Smat, who has lived in Lakeview with Leo, her two other boys and her husband for more than 20 years.
But that sense of independence was squashed when Leo and his two friends — all St. Josaphat School students — were robbed at knifepoint while watching a cross country meet in Wrightwood Park, 2543 N. Greenview Ave., in broad daylight Monday.
Leo's attackers are responsible for five other armed robberies on the North Side that afternoon, according to police.
The robberies were reported at the the following times and locations Monday, with Smat's robbery happening at 3:58 p.m.:
• 3:45 p.m. in the 1900 block of North Wood Street
• 3:58 p.m. in the 2500 block of North Greenview Avenue
• 4:15 p.m. in the 2700 block of North Mildred Avenue
• 4:50 p.m. in the 3000 block of North Greenview Avenue
• 4:50 p.m. in the 1800 block of North Ravenswood Avenue
• 5:01 p.m. in the 3700 block of North Greenview Avenue
After the incident, Leo hasn't been interested in hanging out with friends after school, Smat said. She said he requested to be picked up right outside the school doors.
"I think he's trying to process this and feel some sense of safety," Smat said.
Leo told his mom that there were two attackers, one who appeared to be about 13 and another who appeared to be about 17, which police confirmed. He said he and his friends were walking in the 2500 block of North Greenview Avenue around 4 p.m. when the younger attacker put him in a headlock.
Leo's friend responded by grabbing Leo's phone and dialing 911, prompting the older attacker to pull out a knife and chase the third boy, Smat said.
The third boy then threw the phone at the older attacker, who asked for his iCloud password. When the boy said he didn't know it (his mom had programmed his phone), the older attacker punched the boy, but only made slight contact, according to Smat.
The attackers then ran off with the phone to a car that was waiting with another person inside, Smat said.
"They were doing everything right," Smat said. "They were in a group, it was broad daylight, they were close to school and they were right across the fence from friends. There's nothing he could've done differently or I could've prepared him for."
A St. Josaphat teacher found the boys and waited with them until the police arrived, which took between 20 and 40 minutes, according to Smat.
"The fact that the police didn't come right away ... it's hard to forget that and it's hard to accept that," she said.
Officer Bari Lemmon, a Chicago police spokeswoman, disputes Smat's account. She said officers responded in less than 20 minutes, which she said was a reasonable amount of time, especially for the large Town Hall district.
But Smat said a faster response time could've made a difference.
"My immediate initial response was if you had gotten here earlier, maybe you could have caught them and prevented the next attack," she said.
Still, Smat said she doesn't blame the officers or even the Chicago police department.
"I'm upset that the system isn't working for them, and I want to know what I can do to help," she said.
She also was disappointed in the school's response, saying administrators have failed to reach out to her family since the incident. The school didn't respond to requests for comment.
Since the incident, Leo has been "as well as can be expected," Smat said. He's gone to hockey tryouts and kept busy — he just hasn't shown an interest in hanging out with friends, she said.
"It's certainly an event that has changed him to say the least. I think in time it will get better," Smat said.
As of Thursday afternoon, Lemmon said there was no one in custody for the armed robberies, which happened in quick succession. Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) said more officers are saturating the area.
Smat said she was "hopeful" officers would catch her son's attackers. Once they do, she'd like to sit down with them.
"They're young and I'm a parent," Smat said. "I would like to say 'thank you for not hurting my kids.' If you need a phone that bad, there has to be a better way."
She went on, saying, "We don't solve this by being angry. We solve this by doing something about it. I don't want my kids to have to worry and look over their shoulders all the time. The reality is that in Chicago today you have to tell your kids to be really, really alert."
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