Attackers beat, rob Prospect Heights residents

Five armed men forced their way into a Prospect Heights home early Saturday and held the residents at gunpoint while demanding money and gold, according to police.

A next-door neighbor on the 300 block of East Clarendon Street called 911 just after 3 a.m. when a 21-year-old victim, who managed to escape from a second-story window, knocked on the door, police said.

No one is in custody following the attack, but police said the assault was isolated. The suspects singled out the 21-year-old resident of the house, said Prospect Heights Police Chief Jamie Dunne.

“They were specifically looking for something,” Dunne said. “This was not a random attack.”

Police said the 21-year-old man's mother answered a knock on the door at around 3 a.m. and five men with bandannas and shirts covering their faces forced their way into the home.

The men were armed with at least one knife and a gun as they made their way to the 21-year-old's upstairs bedroom while threatening the man's mother as gunpoint.

The 21-year-old and his girlfriend were upstairs when the suspects began to beat the man and demand money and gold from him, Dunne said.

The targeted man was able to break free from the assailants and jump to the ground from a second-story window, Dunne said. He then ran to the home of a neighbor who had already been alarmed by screams coming from the house.

The 21-year-old man and his mother were both injured during the attack and drove themselves to Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview to be treated for minor injuries, Dunne said.

The only item taken during the break-in was the mother's purse, he said.

Prospect Heights and Mount Prospect police established a perimeter around the house upon arriving, but the suspects had already fled, Dunne said.

A vehicle was seen leaving the area, but a description was not available.