WEST TOWN — Victims of an early Wednesday morning armed robbery and attack inside their West Town apartment may have known their attackers, Chicago Police said.
Armed with baseball bats and at least one gun, three people broke into the apartment in the 1800 block of West Chicago Avenue around 1 a.m. and beat or robbed several of its residents, sending four people — including an 11-year-old boy — to area hospitals, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police Department spokesman.
The owner of Rockstar Barber Shop, 1849 W. Chicago Ave., said the attack happened in an apartment above his shop, where two families live.
One of the three attackers had a gun, which was used to take three of the victims' cellphones and $180, police said.
Estrada said that after entering the home, the suspects began to attack the residents, who may have known their attackers.
There were seven victims, four of whom were hospitalized with injuries.
Two men, ages 61 and 41, were taken to Stroger Hospital with head injuries.
Armed with baseball bats, three people broke into a West Town apartment early Wednesday and beat or robbed several of the residents, sending four people — including an 11-year-old boy — to area hospitals, police said. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
A 61-year-old woman was hit in her shoulder and taken to Northwestern Hospital in good condition.
An 11-year-old boy was knocked to the ground and taken to Northwestern Hospital in good condition. The boy was not hit with a bat, Estrada said.
Two women, ages 40 and 61, were not injured, but their phones were taken. A 13-year-old girl's phone also was taken, police said.
Terdarius Rucker, manager of Rockstar Barber, said he has been cutting the hair of the family upstairs for seven months.
"They are very nice, would bring me food when they had cookouts," he said. "Its sad, messed up. I hope everybody will be OK."
Angela Hernandez said she used to live in one of the apartments above Rockstar Barber Shop but moved last year because of safety concerns.The doors leading to the apartments were often left unlocked, she said.
Hernandez said she knew the family who was attacked, and police often came to the building to respond to disturbances there. Hernandez, who owns Danny Hair Studio at 1849 W. Chicago Ave., said clients would ask about the tumult.
No one is in custody, and Area Central detectives are handling the investigation.
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