January 18, 2:25 p.m.—A man wielding a handgun robbed a woman of her purse just south of East 60th Street and South Drexel Avenue. The suspect fled west after stealing the victim’s purse, which contained $40, a cell phone, and credit cards.

January 22, 7:30 p.m.—Two young men assaulted and robbed a woman of her purse as she was returning from a Metra station to her home on the 1500 block of East 59th Street. Both men were later arrested. The two 16-year-old offenders approached the victim from behind and repeatedly punched her as she neared her front door. The woman went to a nearby University emergency phone and notified police, who arrived to take descriptions of the offenders and to search the area. An officer soon spotted and detained one of the suspects at East 60th Street and South Dorchester Avenue, recovering from him the victim’s purse and its contents. The police could not find the second suspect until the next day. Both offenders have been charged with robbery.

January 23, 5:23 a.m.—A female senior citizen was assaulted and robbed of her purse by two men on the Metra station platform at 1510 East 59th Street. According to police reports, after entering the station, the two offenders followed the victim up to the platform. After a struggle for the purse between the victim and one of the offenders, the second offender pushed the woman to the ground and grabbed the purse. The suspects, described as black men between 20 and 30 years of age, fled in a light-colored “late-model” car.

January 23, unknown time—An armed man who robbed an apartment on the 800 block of East 52nd Street ran into that apartment’s resident while leaving the scene of the crime. The victim confronted the suspect after realizing he was carrying property from the victim’s apartment. The suspect then produced a handgun and fled on foot. The victim discovered that the offender had broken a window at the back entrance of his apartment to gain entry.