The recent muggings in Lincoln Park were on a South Side man’s mind as he walked his 10-speed Schwinn in the dark Monday near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
Be on guard, he told himself. Four men had been robbed and severely beaten last week in separate early-morning incidents, prompting police to issue a community warning.
He ended up fending off an attack by waving around his bike lock, he said. “It was almost like my senses were kind of putting me in line for what was to happen,” said the 36-year-old man, who asked not to be identified for fear his attackers might seek retribution.
Chicago police on Tuesday said the late-night robbery is likely not part of a violent string of attacks in Lincoln Park, and detectives continued poring over older reports to see whether any other incidents fit the pattern.
Detectives moved quickly to issue a warning over the weekend about four muggings in the area that were linked — two Thursday and two Saturday, all in the early-morning hours — because of how concentrated and violent they were.
In those attacks — in the 600 block of West Fullerton Parkway, the 2100 block of North Stockton Drive, the 2000 block of North Cleveland Avenue and the 300 block of West Webster Avenue — several men in their early 20s attacked victims from behind with their fists and then demanded wallets, police said. One person suffered a broken jaw.
No arrests have been made, but police were following several leads.
Robberies in the district are down 7 percent through June, the department said. The robberies are typically more isolated and random than the four recent violent attacks, a police source said.
Meanwhile, police said Tuesday there are several differences between the four robberies and the late-night attack Monday near Fullerton and North Cannon Drive involving the man who said he used his bicycle lock to fight off three men trying to rob him.
The man said he was heading home to North Beverly around 11 p.m. When he got just north of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, on a dark path normally filled with geese, he was walking his bike on the grass.
Suddenly a man armed with a thick stick the size of a billy club jumped out from behind a tree and said “Brake yourself [stop],” the victim recalled. Then two other men came out from hiding.
With his right hand holding up his bike, the man reached with his left hand into his left pocket and threw $137 in cash at the man with the stick.
After the men looked like they were going to approach, the victim grabbed the U-lock resting on his handlebar, let his bike fall to the ground and started swinging the lock wide. He raised his voice, hoping he would attraction attention.
One of the attackers told his friends they should leave since the victim was putting up a fight, and they fled, the victim recalled.
“This lock was my saving grace, really,” the victim said.
RISK FACTORS
In March, RedEye talked to experts about what behaviors increase your risk of becoming a victim of a mugging. Their top advice: Be aware of your surroundings at all times.
Other tips:
Avoid being on the phone, texting, listening to an iPod — anything that takes away your ability to perceive what’s going on around you.
Talking on the phone might seem safe, but it still distracts you, and the person on the other line may not know where you are if you suddenly need help.
Having a map out or admiring landmarks can make you look confused or distracted.
