Oak Park armed robberies get violent

There were three incidents of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery this week in the Village of Oak Park, committed by criminals who had handgun in spite of the handgun ban.  Oak Park's armed robbery rate has increased by nearly 300%, and shows no signs of decreasing anytime soon.

• On January 19, an Oak Park man was walking on South Humphrey near Van Buren, when a teenager attacked him while two accomplices watched. The man fought back, and was able to throw off the attacking teenager. A second teenager instructed the first teenager to "just shoot" the man, and the first teenager then drew a black pistol. All three teenagers turn and ran when the man rushed toward the armed teenager.
• On January 21, a man was riding the Blue Line train near Oak Park Avenue, when another man told him to hand over his wallet, on pain of death. The robber reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny object believed to be a weapon, then punched the man in the face while another man choked him. The robbers escaped with the man's wallet and $46.
• On January 24, an Oak Park woman was folding clothes in a laundromat on the first block of Chicago Avenue when three teenagers entered. One of the attackers pointed a black pistol at the woman, while another took her iPod and $50.