A gang of six was arrested for trashing a downtown 7-Eleven convenience store before brutally attacking a Chicago commuter train passenger with a hammer, Chicago police said on Friday.
Six people, four adults and two minors, were arrested Wednesday after going on a rampage through the convenience store located at 801 S. State Street at the edge of the city’s downtown Loop business section.
The gang, consisting of around ten people, raged through the store, stealing things from the shelves in a frenzy of destruction, starting at about 11:45 PM on Tuesday night, police said. The store clerk was also brutally beaten when he raised objections to the rampage.
The gang’s violent behavior reportedly only got worse, as they jumped onto a Blue Line CTA Train, where a man was sitting on his way to work early that Wednesday morning.
When the man tried to walk past the rowdy group, they instantly attacked him, delivering grievous harm.
The group allegedly followed the man as he ran from car to car and began hitting him with sticks. Prosecutors allege that Deashley Woodard, 19, then took out a hammer and began to bash the commuter train passenger in the face, back, arms, and legs.
Woodard, who was also seen on surveillance video beating the 7-Eleven clerk, beat the train passenger until he blacked out, reports say.
According to DNAInfo.com, prosecutors said the man might have suffered permanent vision loss from the attack because his orbital bone was shattered by the blows.
One of the six arrested for the February 10 attacks was also wanted for a rape and robbery a week earlier.
Police discovered 23-year-old Allen McDowell, who was apprehended with the six marauders, in possession of items stolen from a man during a rape and robbery on February 2.
The victim alleged McDowell stole his wallet and threatened to kill him if he didn’t perform oral sex. McDowell also allegedly raped the robbery victim.
McDowell was charged with armed robbery, robbery, aggravated battery to a transit employee/rider, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated armed robbery. The others were all charged with various offenses, including two teens, a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old girl.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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