A female University of Chicago student reportedly disarmed a robbery suspect who approached her on the sidewalk and demanded her phone as she walked to class on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old student named Madi told WGN that she was walking her usual route home from class on South University Avenue when a masked man approached her and demanded her phone, the outlet reported.
"He flashes the gun towards me and I kind of just go blank, I throw the phone behind my hands, we get into this tussle, and he eventually gets the phone from me," Maddi told WGN. "I was grabbing maybe for my phone, maybe the gun, it’s really a blackout moment for me, and I realize that I was able to grab the magazine out of the gun."
Madi reportedly threw the magazine into a bush and ran, according to WGN.
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Video footage of the robbery obtained by WGN shows the suspect walking directly up to Madi on the sidewalk in broad daylight. The video continues to show their brief confrontation as onlookers watch the incident unfold without intervening.
"I couldn’t necessarily really register the threat ahead of me, so definitely wouldn’t advocate for fighting back. Losing a life over a phone is definitely not worth it," Madi told WGN.
The Chicago Police Department on Saturday announced that they have arrested two juvenile suspects in connection with a series of robbery incidents near the UChicago campus last week, but it is unclear if the suspect who approached the female student was one of those arrested.
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The suspects are16-year-old and 17-year-old males involved in a series of robbery incidents near campus, the most recent of which happened on Saturday around 5:30 pm. in the 5400 block of S. Ingleside. Four males allegedly exited a stolen dark Dodge sedan on Saturday and robbed three male adults at gunpoint "as they walked on the sidewalk," police said in a news release. "The offenders took the victim’s phones and wallets before fleeing in the vehicle."
Police followed the allegedly stolen vehicle and apprehended two suspects.
The 16-year-old is charged with one felony count of armed robbery and one felony count of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle. The 17-year-old was charged with two felony counts of armed robbery and one felony count of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
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The suspects are involved in two other robberies that took place in the 5400 block of S. Ingleside, the 4800 block of S. Honore and the 5100 block of S. Drexel.
Their arrests come after UChicago said in an April 17 security alert saying several university students were robbed on the 5600 block of S. University and 1367 E. 56th Street. S. University is one of the most densely trafficked streets on the school's campus.
There were no reported injuries and no further details at this time, police said.
UChicago said in a news release that they would be increasing security in the areas where the alleged robberies took place.
"The University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) is working with the Chicago Police Department to address crimes in our community, including investigating the armed robberies of three individuals that occurred on and near our campus on the afternoon of April 17," the university said in a news release. "In addition to the ongoing work of apprehending suspects in these cases, UCPD and our Campus Safety Ambassadors have increased their presence in the area."
