(map from Google Maps)According to the Chicago News Report, an assault occured last night around 9:17PM near the Kenmore & Bryn Mawr intersection. The victim was beaten and sustained several cuts to the face but no motive was disclosed. The suspects are described as two African American men, one with dreadlocks, both 6 feet tall with one man about 175 pounds and the other about 240 pounds. It is believed that they fled via the CTA Red Line Bryn Mawr stop.
10 comments:
This is Terrible! Is the crime spilling over from Uptown? Has anyone else notice an increase of panhandlers and young thugs on Bryn Mawr? It's beginning to look like there is not one neighborhood in this city that isn't being affected by all types of crime. What is going on? Stay ALERT and prepared out there Edgewater neighbors!
I've lived here for nearly 6 years and not once have I felt unsafe...until the last few weeks. Last week I was certain I was being followed by one guy on foot while another was slowly following behind in a car on Kenmore and Catalpa. I quickly crossed the street and I lucked out there were some people coming out of a building. As I glanced over my shoulder the guy following me noticed and turned around and then quickly got into the car that had been following and took off. As soon I could I called 911 and reported what happened. Then this weekend I was verbally intimidated by a group of guys when I tried to make my way around them blocking the sidewalk at Bryn Mawr and the L. I was pretty much sure something was about to happen to me. If this is how this city is going to become, I'm not going to stick around forever while the city figures out how to handle gangs and crime.
Based on what has happened to friends and family over the past year, I have no doubt that muggings and gang violence has escalated exponentially on the North side.
Oh yea and no amount of cameras takes the place of police officers and foot patrols. When is the last time you saw a camera chase someone and arrest them?
Matthew,
WOW! I'm glad you made it through that scary incident! I think we could all take a lesson from you about paying attention to our surroundings when we're out and about. Crossing the street, going into a doorway of a building, these are just a few of the things we can do to keep ourselves safe out there. Heads up neighbors!
the aldermanic races are coming up...does anyone know who is running that will get our policemen out of their cars and on the streets?
there has been panhandlers at BMawr and Berwyn for many many years, this is nothing new.
I said "increase of panhandlers" DorthyParker007 and there seems to be more than there used to be. plus the increase of thugs roaming around. It might not be "nothing new" but it has increased and that all contributes to the crime in the area. Just my observation.
Panhandlers, yes. A considerable increase over the past 2 years in thugwannabe's harrassing (i.e. blocking your way and getting in your face about it as in Matthew's case, using racial comments wanting to start trouble, trying to walk you off the sidewalk, yes to that too.
There is regular loitering and sketchy activity going on along Bryn Mawr, and there has been for the two years I've been living around here. My guess is that it has to do with gang-related business activities. Certain businesses along Bryn Mawr seem more or less involved in tolerating or enabling these activities.
As anyone who studies crime will tell you, gangs neither emerge out of thin air nor do they disappear at the drop of a hat. Addressing the social/economic roots of gangs is the best way of causing them to wither on the vine. Of course, getting police to sting particular operations, as well as applying community pressure to landlords harboring illegal activities are means of achieving change as well.
Gang activity is fluid geographically- like any business, gangs appear to set up shop and move about according to how friendly the "business climate" is for them. When there is a crack down in one area, often the problem resurfaces elsewhere.
Any viable solution must be comprehensive, city-wide push to make war against the social/economic conditions that make it appear rational to join gangs. That means achieving full employment, pushing for fully-funded public schools, and expanding the sorts of social services that help enable someone to succeed. Using public funds strategically to reinvigorate depressed commercial districts would also need to be part of the plan.
Police are, at best, mere aspirin for the surface-level symptoms. At some point, the deeper social affliction must be treated directly.
There is overuse of the word "gang" here in Chicago. I don't really view these menaces to society as "gang members". They are loitering, trouble making, thugwannabe, public nuisances that are ALLOWED to congregate in any particular place here in Chicago and it's tolerated.
There are other cities (ahem, Detroit) where they would be dispersed by the police if they were congregating without carrying on any legitimate business, shopping, attending a sporting event/concert........etc.
Why the loitering is tolerated in this city astounds me. I've never lived in Detroit but have been there 10,000 times. This loitering problem IS the first thing I noticed as troublesome when moving to Edgewater 5 years ago. It's only gotten worse.
You could eliminate a helluva lot of problems by dispersing those troublemakers. Do the cops here have those megaphone type things in their patrol cars? I've seen them used frequently in other cities.
We have these problems because, among other reasons, we have little retail & few entry-level jobs in this neighborhood. The attitude of small business & political leaders & residents of Andersonville & Lakewood-Balmoral against development on Broadway like that that has occurred on North Avenue, Clybourn & Elston means that retail money flows out of this neighborhood like a spigot turned all the way on, taking with it all those potential jobs plus street life. Empty streets + no jobs = thugs. That's a little simplistic, but holds an element of truth nonetheless.
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