Robbers target teens at NW Side basketball courts

CHICAGO - Police are warning residents about a pair of robberies Wednesday at basketball courts in Albany Park and Norwood Park on the Northwest Side.

In each case, two men approached a group of teenagers playing basketball, implied that they had a weapon and demanded the victims’ phones and other valuables, according to a community alert from Chicago police. In one case, they slapped the victims and patted them down.

The first robbery happened about 4 p.m. at Jensen Park, 4650 N. Lawndale Ave., police said. The other happened at 6:48 p.m. at the basketball court at Norwood Park School, 5900 N. Nina Ave.

The suspects were described as men between 18 and 20 years old weighing about 150 to 160 pounds, police said One stood between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-11 and wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and a white mask.

The other was between 5-foot-8 and 6 feet tall and wore a black basketball cap, a black and red hoodie and had facial tattoos, police said

Anyone with information is asked to call Area Five detectives at 312-746-7394.