Aurora cops hunt for man who shot cabbie

Aurora police are asking the public for help to identify a man who shot a cabdriver early Tuesday morning during a robbery attempt on the city's near east side.

Police said they responded at 12:11 a.m. to the 400 block of Grant Street, where they found the 49-year-old victim in his cab. He was taken by paramedics to an Aurora hospital, where he was being treated for what authorities said was a gunshot wound that is not life-threatening.

Police said it appears the cabdriver picked up a fare a few minutes earlier at a gas station at North and Broadway avenues. When the driver tried to drop the man off on Grant, police said, the man demanded the driver's money and then shot him in the chest.

Sometime during the robbery the driver accelerated and crashed into a parked and unoccupied SUV, police said.

The suspect is described as a dark-skinned black man, possibly in his 20s, standing about 5 feet 9 inches with an average build. Police said he has a mustache and possibly a goatee and was wearing a white winter cap, blue hooded sweatshirt, black puffy-type jacket, and gray jogging-type pants with a white stripe.

The robber, who fled on foot, did not escape with any money or other valuables, police said.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at (630) 256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000. Callers to Crime Stoppers may remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Tips can also be submitted through the Aurora Police Department's free app available from iTunes, the Android Market or Amazon App Store. Search "My Police Department," find the Aurora police, and download.