Man, woman kidnapped at gunpoint, forced to withdraw money from Chicago ATMs

By Elyssa Kaufman, Charlie De Mar

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The owners of a tamale restaurant were kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to withdraw money from multiple ATMs in Little Village early Thursday morning.

Around 1 a.m., police said a man and woman were about to enter their restaurant, Los Tamales de la Tia, in the 3400 block of West 26th Street when an SUV pulled up. Five men, some with guns, got out and entered the restaurant with the victims before stealing items.

“He grabbed my husband by the neck and put the gun to his head,” said Yesenia, one of the owners of the restaurant who asked to only be identified by her first name. “I was really scared.”

The victims said they were hit several times as guns were pointed at their heads. They said after giving up their wallets and other personal items, they were forced inside the restaurant where they opened the cash register. The robbers were seemingly upset with how little was in the register and proceeded to kidnap the couple.

Police said the men then forced the victims into a vehicle at gunpoint, stole from them, and then forced them to withdraw money from several ATMs.

The restaurant has been open for less than a year. The couple said they were forced to withdraw about $1,500, and the robbers took a few hundred dollars from the register.

The owners said the armed men kept threatening to kill them throughout the ordeal.

“They made me open the cash register and one of them started taking the money,” said Yesenia. “Then they got upset because it wasn’t enough money, so he started hitting me on my shoulder and my head.”

The owners said the robbers were speaking a combination of Spanish and English. No arrests have been made.

The victims were released from the car, uninjured. Police said they refused medical treatment.

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