WICKER PARK — Two robberies happened within minutes of each other Sunday night in Wicker Park, police said.
In the first, a 34-year-old man was standing outside smoking a cigarette in the 1100 block of North Milwaukee Ave. around 10 p.m. when an unknown man approached and asked for a cigarette.
"When the victim said he didn't have any more [cigarettes], the man snatched the victim's watch from his wrist," and ran off, said Officer Brandi Wright, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman.
The victim did not provide a description of the robber, Wright said.
In the second incident, two men were robbed of their belongings by two men in the 2100 block of West Concord Place at 10:25 p.m. Sunday, Wright said.
The robbers were described by police as two men wearing black hoodies and blue jeans.
According to a resident, who posted information about the robbery on Facebook late Sunday, the victims were sitting on their front porch at a table when they were robbed at gunpoint by two men.
The robbers took two iPhones, one iPad and a wallet from the victims, the resident said.
After helping the men to call 911 after they were robbed, the resident said police responded quickly and spent more than two hours collecting evidence, interviewing the victims and contacting businesses to get security camera surveillance after the victims' credit cards were used in several locations.
For those concerned about crime in Wicker Park and Bucktown, there are three upcoming police and community meetings: Wednesday and Oct. 18 and Oct. 19.
