As many as 11 people in Maywood and Melrose Park have been assaulted by a man who robs his victims after sneaking up from behind and hitting them on the head with a baseball bat or metal pipe, according to police in the two western suburbs.
Melrose Park Police Chief Ronald Belle said investigators have linked the man to six attacks since October and they believe he may be responsible for four other similar robberies.
In addition, Maywood police are investigating the attempted robbery of a 56-year-old man at about 10 p.m. Tuesday in which the victim was struck on the shoulder with a crow bar in an alley behind his house. Police, who believe the attacker may be the Melrose Park assailant, said the victim was only slightly injured.
Investigators say the attacks have occurred between 7 p.m. and midnight in south central Melrose Park and near the border between the two villages. Police have recovered a baseball bat and a 3-foot section of pipe near the scene of two of the attacks.
”To me, this guy just seems to be working at random,” Belle said Friday.
The attacker steals money and other valuables; he took $200 in cash from his last known victim Feb. 9, Belle said.
He said several of the victims have been hospitalized. The most serious injury occurred Feb. 6 when a 23-year-old man was hit on the back of the head with a baseball bat.
Police have been hampered in their investigation because few of the victims have seen their assailant. They said he has been described as being black, in his early to mid-20s, 5 feet 8 inches and 140 to 150 pounds. He wears a dark green or black coat, possibly an Army jacket, and dark pants.
