Chicago bicycle shop robbed twice within weeks: 'This is another level'
CHICAGO - A bike shop owner said on Thursday the crime surge in Chicago has gone to "another level" from recent years.
"This is just another level with everything that’s going on in Chicago," BFF Bikes owner Gillian Forsyth told "Fox & Friends," saying her shop was hit on a weekday morning recently.
"There were people going to work and cars about. And the robbers crashed through one of my windows, and they targeted five very high-end bikes and they just kind of rushed in, grabbed the bikes and left very quickly," she said.
Last week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on the federal government for help in combating crime and violence in the Windy City.
In a news conference Monday, the Democrat mayor asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to send in agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for six months to ramp up the number of gun investigations and gun seizures, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
She also asked for more federal prosecutors to handle the criminal cases those agents will investigate, as well as federal marshals to assist local law enforcement with tracking down thousands of suspects wanted on warrants, the station added.
"We need these additional resources well in advance of summer," Lightfoot said.
The plea comes as the number of shooting victims in Chicago this year – as of Dec. 19 – was at 4,270, compared to 3,930 in 2020, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing police statistics.
Homicides have risen to 783, up from the 749 recorded during the same time period in 2020, the newspaper also said.
Last summer, Fox News reported that then-President Donald Trump was sending in 100 federal agents to Chicago as part of Operation Legend.
The bike shop owner added that it was difficult to identify the criminals because they were wearing masks.
"There is a lot of footage. Some footage that shows one of their faces, but it’s very hard to see, for the most part they are all masked," Forsyth said, adding that she replaced the windows and another robbery occurred two weeks later.
Host Brian Kilmeade said the criminals feel "impervious to arrest," noting property crimes in the city have jumped significantly from last year. Forsyth said she doesn't want to move her business from the area and fellow shop owners have talked about trying to hire private security.
"These are minors who just get off with a slap on the wrist. … Put them in jail, do whatever, but make them feel like there are repercussions."