By Will Jones, abc7chicago.com
As Chicago police investigate the shooting of a 73-year-old man on the city’s Southwest Side, Hammond police are looking into whether there is any connection to armed robberies in northwest Indiana last week.
The victim was headed to work just before 6:30 a.m. in the 6100-block of South Kenneth Avenue in Chicago’s West Lawn neighborhood when he was shot during a robbery attempt, police said.
Surveillance video shows the man walking on the sidewalk shortly before two people in hooded sweatshirts got out of a black SUV and ran toward him, allegedly demanding his money and car keys.
When the 73-year-old man refused, he was shot in the stomach, police said. The suspects jumped back into the SUV and took off after the shooting.
Miguel Camarillo, a neighbor, heard the gunshots.
“My first instinct was to go help out an old man cause that could have been anybody’s grandpa. That could have been my grandpa,” Camarillo said.
The victim was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where his condition stabilized. As of 6 a.m. Friday, he had not yet been released.
Area Central detectives are investigating. No one is in custody.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the West Lawn shooting.
Hammond investigators are looking into whether the attempted robbery is connected to three armed robberies that occurred within an hour on Monday.
