“Most criminal acts are crimes of opportunity, and there are greater opportunities when there are unarmed victims. Criminals in Chicago appear to be learning that lesson, as we’ve seen a number of recent robberies and carjackings that appear to be targeting victims in gun-free zones.
In one case, police report that a suspect is going after women who are waiting at bus stops. There were at least two armed robberies this week allegedly committed by the same suspect.
In each incident a man, driving a late model black Jeep Cherokee SUV, pulled up alongside a woman waiting for public transportation, showed a handgun and demanded her belongings, Chicago police said.
The man then took the women’s personal property and fled inside the Jeep Cherokee, police said.
In another recent case, police say a number of offenders are robbing riders of the city’s train system.
In the robberies, a group of one to six men, approach a person at or near the Red Line station on 63rd Street and take their property before leaving the scene, Chicago police said.
The first robbery happened about 3 p.m. Jan. 12 in the 6300 block of South Wentworth Avenue, police said.
Days later, a person was robbed about 1:15 p.m. in the 200 block of West 63rd Street, police said. On Feb. 12, another person was also robbed in the same location.
Robbers have also struck at other stations in the city’s CTA system over the past month, and why not? Even if you have a concealed carry license in Illinois, you’re not allowed under state law to bring your gun onto public transportation, which means that the odds of encountering an armed citizen at a bus stop or outside of train station are incredibly low. If criminals are looking for an easy target, Illinois’ decision to make public transportation a gun-free zone has given them plenty of potential victims to choose from.
Then there are those gun-free zones established by private companies like Uber and Lyft, which prohibit contractors from having a gun in their own vehicle while they’re on the clock. Carry a gun in violation of company policy, as a Lyft driver in Cleveland did recently, and you can be cut loose from the company, even if you were were forced to use your gun in self-defense.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that robberies and carjackings of rideshare drivers have become increasingly common in many cities, including Chicago, where an 18-year old was arrested this week for an attempted carjacking.
By Thomas K9
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