O'HARE — Police are reviewing "excellent video" and talking to multiple witnesses to Thursday's robbery and shooting of a 55-year-old woman in the O'Hare neighborhood, leaving them hopeful of an arrest, Area North Det. John Gargul said at a Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy meeting Tuesday evening.
Around 12:20 a.m., the woman was walking home from the Cumberland Blue Line station in the 5400 block of North Chester Avenue when she was stopped by two young men who demanded her purse, police said. A struggle ensued, and one of the youths pushed her to the ground and shot her in her stomach.
The woman, who had been listed in serious condition, was "doing fine" and preparing to be discharged from the hospital in the next few days, Gargul said Tuesday.
After the woman was shot, the robbers took her purse, jumped into a silver car and drove away, police said. Officers later found the car, which they learned had been stolen, in a different part of the city, Capt. Hootan Bahmandeji said.
The shooting occurred in the same block as Grandparents Park, 5445 N. Chester Ave., next to an LA Fitness parking garage. The park sat in darkness Tuesday night, and multiple neighbors who declined to identify themselves said they were waiting for burned-out lights at the park to be replaced.
Police did not give physical descriptions of the suspects, but one of the robbers appeared to have been as young as 15 years old, Bahmandeji said.
Detectives are waiting to interview the robbery victim until she's recovered more fully, but they're encouraged by the leads they've gained so far, Gargul said.
"We have excellent video of the incident, a couple of good witnesses and various evidence that we've recovered," the detective said. "We can't ever promise a successful conclusion to an investigation, but we're hoping for it in this case."
Gargul also declined to share details in the investigation surrounding the April 7 murder of 75-year-old Loren Flensborg in his Norwood Park home, but he said neighbors in the 5000 block of Oak Park Avenue have "nothing to worry about."
"There are some things that we know regarding that case, but we can't discuss them," Gargul said. "We know the people on Oak Park Avenue are concerned, but they should know that [the murder] was not random — it was specific to that moment."
Anyone with information on the shooting or the suspects is asked to call detectives at 312-744-8263.
