With a string of robberies hitting the Near South Side, police are now searching for two armed boys, possibly as young as 6 years old, whom they believe to be linked to an attempted robbery that took place June 28 near Williams Park.
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After noticing there had been 11 robberies in the area, police notified residents and were made aware that these robberies were all being carried out by children. Most of the children involved are believed to be between 10 to 11, but the most recent attempt reveals two boys described by the victim as between the ages of 6 and 8, according to DNAinfo.
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One of the boys was armed with a silver handgun when he and the other boy approached a person just before 8 p.m. in the 100 block of East 29th Street near Williams Park. Police told DNAinfo the boys demanded money from the stranger, but when the victim claimed not to have any they ran away.
The string of robberies involving young boys took place on the blocks east of Williams Park and north of Dunbar Park, at 300 E. 31st St, and this attempt followed. Police report that nearly all of the victims described a group of three to nine young boys as their attackers, with the oldest boy being described as 20.
Leonard McGee, president of the Gap Community Organization, said he is not surprised that young boys are taking part in gun violence, considering just how much gun violence the city sees, according to DNAinfo. He questioned weather witnesses got the ages right, but said he hopes police get to the bottom of what is going on.
“They might be sticking up people because their parents stick up people,” McGee told DNAinfo. “They’re imitating someone.”
Police said the case is being investigated, but they have made no arrests in connection with the robberies.