2 men attacked blocks apart on Chicago's Near West Side, police say
Two men were attacked with sharp objects an hour apart early Monday on Chicago's Near West Side, Chicago police said.
In the first incident at 1 a.m. Monday, a 40-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk in the 1400 block of South Canal Street, alongside a BNSF and Metra railroad yard, when a man came up on a bicycle, police said.
The victim was hit several times with an unknown object, and the man on the bicycle took his property, police said.
The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County in good condition with lacerations to the head.
An hour later, Chicago police said officers were on patrol in the 1300 block of South Jefferson Street, just south of Roosevelt Road and near a large Home Depot store, and just a couple of blocks to the west of the first crime scene. Officers found a 44-year-old man standing in the middle of the street with several injuries.
The man told officers he was attacked by two men, one of whom was wielding an axe.
The attackers fled the scene after the attack, police said. This victim was also taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County in good condition.
No one was in custody Monday morning in the attacks. Police initially reported the attacks had happened on the same block, but later corrected the information.
Police have not specified whether the attacks are related.
CBS News Chicago investigators looked at crime data, honing in on the area and violent crimes, and found that violent crime is down overall, but fatal shootings and homicides are both up this year.
Belmont Area detectives are investigating.