Ald. Rainey: Home Invasion Was “Not A Random Act”

According to Ald. Ann Rainey, a home invasion that took place in her ward last week was “not a random act of violence.” 

In a posting on an eighth ward message board, Rainey explained that the tenants of the apartment at 131 Asbury Ave. had been notified that they were going to be evicted before a group of young at their door. 

According to police, the incident took place at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, when three men knocked on the door of the apartment, brandishing guns, while a fourth stood watch outside the building. 

A 21-year-old man, two women and three children were home when the four offenders arrived, according to police. Witnesses reported hearing the men refer to the location of money and drugs, and described them as being in their late teens or early twenties. 

After two people in the home escaped through a window, the young men with guns ran away, police reported. No one was injured.

“The crime took place on the ground floor which was inhabited by an evictee and children from an upper floor along with the previous evictee’s mother and brother,” Rainey explained in her posting. “Prior to the home invasion, the lower floor tenants had also been through the eviction process and had been notified of their pending eviction.”

Rainey contacted Commissioner Larry Suffredin about the situation, and he and the Cook County Sheriff agreed to carry out the eviction as soon as possible, she wrote. At 10:30 a.m. on Friday, sheriff’s deputies arrived in several vehicles, and ordered two tenants who were present to leave the property.

“Our EPD stood by and there were no incidents,” Rainey said, adding that the police are continuing to interview suspects. As of Friday, police spokesperson Perry Polinski said there had been no arrests. 

“As you know, this was not a random act of violence, but things could have gone terribly wrong,” Rainey wrote.