Last weekend, a 38-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were both hospitalized after two separate violent crime-related incidents in Austin that occurred on March 7.
The man was eating inside his vehicle when he was shot early Saturday on Austin’s west side. Three men approached and opened fire on the vehicle at 4:20 a.m. in the 4700 block of West Van Buren Street, striking the man in the leg. The victim was able to drive himself to Loretto Hospital, where he is listed in good condition.
“Nobody is in custody at this point. It’s an ongoing investigation,” said police news affairs officer Veejay Zala.
Saturday night, a woman was stabbed during a domestic incident at a residence in the 100 block of North Long Street on Austin’s west side. The incident happened around 10:15 p.m. and the woman was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood in critical condition. No suspects are in custody for the stabbing incident, according to Zala.
A rash of armed robberies also hit the Austin area in January and February, which involved two African-American males approaching victims, taking out handguns and demanding their property.
Officers reported four separate robberies involving the two men : Jan. 31 at 10:04 p.m. in the 700 block of North Central Avenue, Feb. 10 at 7:10 p.m. in the 600 block of North Mayfield Avenue, Feb. 14 at 3:55 p.m. in the 5500 block of West Huron Street and Feb. 22 at 11:45 p.m. in the 5700 block of West Ohio Street.
Both offenders are described as having medium-dark complexions, between 18-22 years of age and nearly six feet tall.
Those recent incidents notwithstanding, the rate of crime in Austin has gradually, but markedly, declined over the last five years, according to City of Chicago crime data that has been analyzed and aggregated by the Chicago Tribune.
Last month, for instance, Austin had 20 percent less violent crimes, 4 percent less property crimes and 19 percent less quality of life crimes than occurred in February 2014.
CONTACT: Nicholas.samuel@loop.colum.edu@yahoo.com
