NORTH LAWNDALE — Robbers using a woman's profile on a dating app struck three times in North Lawndale this week, including stealing cars at gunpoint.
Using the Meet Me dating website, the men used the profile to lure victims to the 4200 block of West Cullerton Street and rob them at gunpoint, police said.
The incidents took place at 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, with the first reported in the 1900 block of South Keeler Avenue. The others took place at the meeting spot, where they beat the victims and took personal items, including two cars.
Police describe the men as between 15 and 25 years old, varying from about 5-foot 9 to 6-foot-1 and 140 to 170 pounds.
The cars stolen were a 2007 Blue Chevrolet Aveo and a 2001 Black Hyundai Elantra. Both had Illinois license plates, numbers Q517134 and S728176, respectively.
A similar string of robberies was reported in December in the Austin neighborhood. In those cases, the men also pretended to be a woman and met their victims over social media.
Police ask anyone with information on the case to call Area Central detectives at 312-747-8382.
