Overview
- Three separate sidewalk attacks in Avondale involved a man approaching women from behind and grabbing their breasts and groin over clothing in incidents that occurred on Sept. 11 in the 3400 block of N. Springfield, the 3900 block of N. Cornelia, and the 3300 block of N. Avers.
- A separate incident at the Division Blue Line station in Wicker Park on Sept. 5 involved a man who exited a train, waited for a woman in a skirt, ran up on the platform and grabbed her under the skirt before fleeing.
- Police released different suspect descriptions for the Avondale and Blue Line incidents and assigned Area Five detectives to the Sept. 11 cases and Mass Transit detectives to the Sept. 5 case, so investigators have not confirmed a link between the episodes.
- Authorities have issued community alerts and asked residents to check doorbell and surveillance cameras, and to call tip lines — Area Five at 312-746-6554 and Mass Transit at 312-745-4447 or submit tips at CPDTIP.com using the posted reference numbers (including JK401545 for the Blue Line case).
- No arrests have been announced and the investigations are ongoing, a development that has intensified local safety concerns about evening street encounters and transit trips after other recent neighborhood assaults this summer.