Man robbed at gunpoint in Old Town, part of string of muggings

CHICAGO (WLS) -- One victim of a series of North Side crimes told ABC7 Eyewitness News exclusively about the horror of having a gun pointed at his head.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday in the 1800-block of North Sedgwick Street, Dan Carley was walking with a friend when he was struck by cold metal.

"One guy puts his hand on my throat. The other guy puts a gun to my waist at first," Carley said. "He pistol-whipped me in the head and then kept it there. And so I'm like, okay. I emptied my wallet."

The two robbers then turned to Carley's friend, but she wasn't having it.

"They're having a struggle trying to get to her bag. She's fighting back, and at one point he pushed her up against a car," he said.

The violent encounter was one of a string of North Side muggings. One of them took place on a block of multi-million dollar homes in the city's Gold Coast neighborhood. At least half a dozen have occurred on or near the DePaul University campus in Lincoln Park.

"Three kids got out. Each of them had a gun. And they yelled, 'This is a robbery,'" said Isabelle Eleuterius, robbery victim.

"I had a gun to my face, and I just had my wallet in my hand because I'd already took it out because I knew what was going to happen," said Grady Cole, robbery victim.

Carley and his friend weren't seriously hurt. But the robbers gave them a literal parting shot as they left, firing a bullet in their direction.

"I thought she was shot. She thought I was shot. We both just panicked," Carley said.

Police are investigating whether all these armed robberies are the work of the same crew. Each incident has involved two or more thieves hopping out of a vehicle and pulling a gun.