DOWNTOWN — A boy accused of robbing victims at gunpoint Sunday in the South Loop has been arrested, a Chicago Police captain said Wednesday.
Capt. Laurel Bresnahan also told a small community group gathered at the University Center, 525 S. State St., that more officers are patrolling the neighborhood in response to an uptick in crime, including armed robberies.
The boy has been charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted armed robbery, according to a police spokesman, who declined to comment further.
The boy arrested in connection with a Sunday robbery in the 1200 block of South State Street approached his victims by asking for the time before brandishing a handgun and taking money and cellphones, police said. The crime is similar to robberies reported Saturday in the 100 block of North Beaubien Court and the 300 block of South Water Street, police said.
The arrest follows a rash of robberies in the South Loop, where all reported crimes increased 60 percent — to 85 from 53 —from Jan. 14 to Feb. 8 compared with the prior 30-day period, according to Chicago police statistics disclosed at the CAPS meeting Wednesday. The statistics apply to a police beat stretching from Congress Parkway to Roosevelt Road and from Michigan Avenue to the Chicago River.
Reported batteries on the beat increased from three to 12 over the same time frame, and robberies increased from one to four, police said. Bresnahan told residents that the crimes followed a similar pattern, with the victims, all young women, attacked from behind from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Bresnahan said more foot patrols have helped reduce crime, but she advised residents to be good neighbors and warn distracted, headphone-wearing women walking or jogging in the area.
"We ask people to keep a friendly eye out," Bresnahan said.
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