Crime & Safety
Illinois Attorney General Candidate Robbed At Gunpoint: Cops
Three men are accused of robbing Aaron Goldstein and members of his campaign during a photo shoot Thursday on the NW Side.
CHICAGO, IL — A scheduled and orchestrated Northwest Side photo shoot for an Illinois attorney general candidate turned into an unpredictable and frightening encounter Thursday afternoon when the Democratic hopeful was robbed at gunpoint, according to the Chicago Tribune. Aaron Goldstein 42, and four members of his campaign were held up by three men — one of them brandishing a handgun — who allegedly took off with cellphones and camera equipment from the shoot, the report added.
According to Chicago police, the armed robbery happened just before 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, in the 4600 block of North Albany Avenue in Goldstein's home neighborhood of Albany Park, the report stated. Authorities said the men — described as being between 20 to 24 years old — confronted the candiate during the photo shoot, the report added.
After one of the men revealed he had a gun, Goldstein and the campaign members turned over their property, and the trio of alleged robbers fled the scene, the report stated. No one was hurt in the incident, and police told Goldstein's campaign the alleged robbers didn't appear to be targeting the candidate, the report added.
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"Basically, this was a totally a random act of violence in the community," campaign manager Robert Murphy, who wasn't at the photo shoot, told the Tribune. "But when it happens to you, of course, you’re shooken up.
"[Goldstein] says he’s fine, and he was concerned about everyone else instead of how he is — but that’s just how he is," he added.
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Besides the age range of the suspects, police have not released a decription of the alleged robbers. So far, no arrests have been made stemming from the incident.
Goldstein was in Albany Park to capture photos of himself in the 33rd Ward, where he's been the Democratic committeeman since 2016, the Tribune reports. He's one of eight Democrats making a bid for attorney general after Lisa Madigan said she wouldn't be running for another term.
Aaron Goldstein, Democratic candidate for Illinois Attorney General (Photo via Goldstein)
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