4 Guardian Angels knifed trying to stop Red Line robbery Four members of the volunteer security patrol known as the Guardian Angels were stabbed while trying to nab a man who pistol-whipped a rider on a Red Line train on the Near North Side, police say. The four suffered minor cuts during the confrontation around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Clark and Division stop, police said, citing preliminary information. The Guardian Angels were on the platform, waiting to get on a train, when they spotted a man hitting a passenger and taking his iPhone 4S, police said. They intervened and a second man pulled a knife and cut three of the Guardian Angels on their arms and the fourth on the head, authorities said. The robbers ran off and grabbed a cab, police said. Miguel Fuentes, the head of the local Guardian Angels chapter, said he had spotted one of the robbers standing suspiciously close behind the passenger on the northbound train. "As the train's pulling up, I noticed (the robber) hovering around (the victim) from behind. So the passenger had no clue," Fuentes said hours after the attack left him with 17 stitches in his right arm. As the train pulled to the stop, Fuentes said he saw the robber pull a handgun and hit the passenger from behind. "People get up, they start running. . .They're screaming. The train still hadn't made a complete stop," Fuentes said. Fuentes said he grabbed the robber's arm as he was fleeing the train and tucking the pistol into his waistband. The robber managed pulled away and ran toward the turnstile, where the three other Guardian Angels were waiting. Fuentes and the three other volunteers subdued the robber but a second man who had also been on the train approached them from behind. "He said, 'What's going on? Let him go!' " Fuentes said. The second man then pulled out a folding knife and hit the Guardian Angels, then flipped out the blade and began stabbing Fuentes and the others. "We had no choice but to let the guy go because we were all bleeding," Fuentes said. The attackers ran from the train platform and got a cab, police said. They ditched it without paying near Oak and Orleans streets. Detectives were canvassing the area around the train station and checking surveillance cameras, police said. Fuentes said he and the others, all in their 20s, were treated for minor wounds. The robbery victim was also treated. Known by their red berets, the Guardian Angels often patrol CTA stations and neighborhood streets. The group has 130 chapters in 17 countries, according to the group's website. Fuentes, a 25-year veteran of the Guardian Angels, said he had no regrets about intervening. "If we don't do something, someone could get hurt or killed," he said. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ying-to-stop-robbery-20120516,0,6674405.story Ahhhh, who are the police looking for? Is there a description from the victims? Shouldn't train riders in Chicago be on the lookout for these two criminals? What are these reporters thinking????
Clark and Division - isn't that the Gold Coast area? Pretty close to Cabrini Green but I thought that area had been "gentrified" a while back. I used to ride the Red Line in that area all the time and it didn't used to be dangerous (at least on the North side of the city).
Criminals don't ride the green line to Austin or the pink line to Cicero. Nobody on those trains has value. They ride the trains where the wealthy people are. Plus, the red line traverses the entire city north to south, from very low income areas to some of the wealthiest. I tip my hat to these guys. I saw them on the news this morning, all young men of different ethnicities, just trying to make the world a better place.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/3754766-418/teens-charged-after-red-line-robbery-assault.html More info. Apparently, the robbers are minors, and thus, they aren't being identified. The only thing that has been said is that they are from the South Side.
