Robbery victim speaks out after Lightfoot's security detail exchanges gunfire with suspects in Logan Square

CHICAGO - A Chicago grandfather is thanking Mayor Lori Lightfoot‘s police security team after they came to his rescue while he was being robbed in Logan Square.

On-duty officers assigned to the department's Detached Services Unit witnessed a robbery Tuesday morning in the 1800 block of North Monticello Avenue, according to a preliminary statement from Chicago police.

Police said the officers "encountered multiple suspects, at least one of whom was armed," and an exchange of gunfire followed.

"I’m glad that I didn’t get shot, killed," said 77-year-old Luis Antonio Zayas, who was sitting in his car just after 7 a.m. while waiting to drive his grandson to school.

That’s when another car suddenly pulled up and two men with guns got out.

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"They put a gun on the side of my head," Zayas said. "And another guy comes and says he wants money. I said, ‘Are you crazy? They got cameras over here and police over here.’"

Directly across the street from the robbery site is the building used as a staging area for Mayor Lightfoot‘s Chicago Police security detail. It’s just blocks from her Logan Square home.

Zayas said the gunmen pulled him out of his car, took his wallet, and then threw him to the ground.

"They throw me down. I call, ‘help, help, help!’ The police come out and after that I hear pop, pop, pop! Shots."

Eight or nine shots were exchanged between police and the robbery crew, but nobody was hit. The gunmen then jumped in their car and sped off.

"I’m grateful for the police," Zayas said.

The robbery took place in the shadow of the 606 Trail. Shattered glass from a car windshield was scattered across the street, and there was a bullet hole in a car that was parked there when the shooting started.

"There’s so much surveillance, it was probably a poor choice to come over here, especially with what’s across the street," said Alexandra Zayas, the robbery victim’s daughter.

Police believe the same crew is responsible for another armed robbery earlier Tuesday morning, and perhaps others in the area over the past week.

Zayas says he has a sore shoulder from being pushed down, and the robbers took his drivers license and $220 in cash. But he said he’s grateful to be alive.

"That’s the way it is here in Chicago. We love Chicago. Fifty-nine years I’m living here in Chicago," he said.

No weapons were recovered at the scene, police said. One of the officers sustained minor injuries and was transported to an area hospital for treatment.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the shooting, police said. The officers who were involved will be placed on desk duty for 30 days, per departmental policy.