2 armed men rob passengers on Chicago train that serves Midway airport during afternoon

7/17/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
No passengers were hurt, but the men stole various items including wallets, phones and jewelry from multiple riders.
No passengers were hurt, but the men stole various items including wallets, phones and jewelry from multiple riders.

CHICAGO — Chicago police have released the photographs of two men who allegedly boarded a train coming from Midway International Airport, pulled out guns and robbed passengers of their wallets, phones and jewelry as it rolled into downtown Wednesday afternoon.

The photographs show the men leaving the Roosevelt station near the time of a robbery that occurred on the Orange Line between the Halsted and Roosevelt stations.

Authorities said no one was hurt, though one woman told WMAQ-TV that a man struck her in the head with his gun because she did not hand over her purse.

Police said detectives are also reviewing surveillance video from the trains and platforms.

“They were bold to do this,” Guardian Angels national director Miguel Fuentes said Thursday as members of the volunteer-based community patrol group handed out fliers at downtown CTA station. “It’s completely scary that for two people at 4 o’clock, on a train heading into the city pulling out guns and rob them like they’re Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or something.”

He also suggested the robbers would strike again.

“People don’t commit crimes like this just one time and stop,” he said.

Police said no arrests had been made and no suspects had been identified.

Robberies on the CTA have dropped significantly in the last year, the agency said. In the first three months of 2014, nearly 100 people were arrested as a result of images pulled from the CTA cameras, it said.