Two men armed with handguns pistol-whipped two employees at Walgreens, 7200 Roosevelt Road, threw one customer to the ground and ordered another to the ground at gunpoint during a robbery on Feb. 1 at about 9:40 p.m.

One of the employees told police he was in the rear of the store when one of the gunmen approached, grabbed him and ordered him to open the cash register, striking him with the handgun several times.

The gunman also ordered another employee to open the safe in a rear storage room, but it was unable to be opened. That employee was also struck in the head with a pistol by one of the gunmen.

An employee was ordered to place money and cigarettes in a large green grocery bag. 

Police also interviewed someone who told them she cautiously went to the rear of the store during the robbery and set off the fire alarm in an attempt to scare off the offenders.

A 32-year-old woman who was shopping in the store and was walking toward the register to purchase milk told police that one of the offenders approached her with a gun and threw her on the ground. Another female customer told police the other offender ordered her to the ground at gunpoint.

The two men then fled the store and were seen getting into a white Ford Fusion, which drove away north on Harlem Avenue.

One of the offenders was described as a Black male in his 20s with a slender build and wearing a black hoodie, dark cuffed pants and dark boots. He was armed with a black handgun with an extended magazine.

The second offender was described as a Black male, heavyset, wearing a black hoodie with white strings and writing on the front, black pants and brown Timberland boots. He was armed with a black handgun.

  • Forest Park police responded to 7-Eleven, 7749 Roosevelt Road, on Feb. 5 after an employee called to report the store had just been robbed.

The employee stated that a man entered the store and asked for a pack of cigars. The employee went to grab the cigars and when he turned around, the man was holding a silver handgun and demanded money from the registers. The employee handed over about $400 and the offender fled eastbound on Roosevelt Road.

Burglary

Forest Park police say seven people at four separate times entered an apparently unlocked convenience store inside the CTA Blue Line terminal, 711 Desplaines Ave., between 1:30 at 5:15 a.m. on Feb. 5, stealing lottery tickets, cash, candy and tobacco products.

Individual offenders reportedly entered the store at 1:30 a.m., 1:33 a.m., 5:02 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. with three people entering the business and removing items at 5:12 a.m.

A 42-year-old woman went to police on Feb. 1 to report that someone had burglarized the apartment she leased, but hadn’t lived in for months, in the 500 block of Jackson Boulevard.

The victim told police that she bought a home in Broadview last year but had kept the lease on her Forest Park apartment, which did not expire until Jan. 31, 2022, and continued to pay rent.

Since late October or early November of last year, the victim stored furniture, clothing, TVs and packed-up housewares she did not need inside the apartment. On Jan. 31, with the lease expiring, she went to the apartment to clear it out and found almost all her belongings missing.

Some boxes still remaining were opened and had been rummaged through. The property management company reportedly confirmed the victim had a valid lease through Jan. 31 and had no knowledge of the missing items.

A 41-year-old man called police to report that someone had stolen a black Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun loaded with eight rounds from a rental vehicle that he’d parked in the 7400 block of Randolph Street from 11 p.m. on Feb. 4 to 2 a.m. on Feb. 5.

The victim reportedly left the firearm in the pocket of a jacket that had been left in the vehicle’s trunk.

Vehicle theft

An employee of U-Haul, 801 Harlem Ave., called police on Feb. 3 to report a stolen vehicle. According to the employee, a man had rented a 2021 Chevy Express van on Jan. 24 with a return date of Jan. 28.

As of Feb. 3 the vehicle had not been returned despite several attempts by the company to contact the man who rented it, police reported.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

Compiled by Bob Uphues