Bedlam in my backyard

I arrived home from calling on a client this morning to find that bedlam had broken out very nearly in my backyard. The neighborhood was crawling with Chicago police. Patrol cars. Unmarked cars. Officers.

Apparently, a pair of gunmen held up a bank in Skokie at the corner of Skokie Boulevard (Cicero Ave. in Chicago) and Oakton Avenue. They escaped by car down Cicero, drove into my neighborhood, and dumped their car behind my house in the driveway of the people who live behind me. They then forced another neighbor (who had been working in the yard) at gunpoint into his house, tied him up, and stole his car.

According to police on the scene, they’re still at large.

UPDATE: The story’s made The Trib:

Police this afternoon were seeking two men who allegedly robbed a bank in north suburban Skokie, fled at high speed on the Edens Expressway, dumped the getaway car and hijacked another vehicle on Chicago’s Northwest Side.

About 10:20 a.m., two men armed with guns entered the Bank of Lincolnwood at 8047 N. Skokie Blvd. and announced a robbery, according to police of the northern suburb.

The men sprayed at least one teller with a disabling chemical and took off with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. A short time later, a Lincolnwood police officer reported a car heading south at high speed on the Edens Expressway.

The car exited at Peterson Avenue, Chicago, and its occupants bailed out of the vehicle, police said. The same men then allegedly hijacked a red 2002 Chevrolet Malibu from the nearby 5900 block of North Knox Avenue.

Police described the suspects as men in their 30s, standing 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. The missing Chevrolet has Illinois license plates, 848 331.

UPDATE: Our back fence was on the evening news! On this link from ABC 7 Chicago there’s a video link (requires Windows Media Player 9). Ours is the nice, new fence on the left not the old somewhat dilapidated one on the right.

The Chicago Tribune has a slightly updated version of the story.