Robber with hatchet strikes in Bloomingdale

Police are searching for a hatchet-wielding man who robbed a Bloomingdale convenience store Monday afternoon.

The man, who is believed to be the same man who robbed a Meijer gas station on Gary Avenue last Monday, walked into the Hometown Pantry Convenience Store, 360 W. Schick Road, around 2:55 p.m. Monday wearing all black clothing, a white baseball hat and a white bandanna covering his mouth and nose, police said.

The man was carrying a hatchet in his right hand and demanded cash from the sales clerk; there were no customers in the store at the time, police said.

The clerk had a brief conversation with the man, then handed him approximately $500 from the register, police said. The sales clerk unsuccessfully tried to follow the man but lost him on foot, police said.

Police believe the man, who is about six feet tall with a medium build. robbed the Meijer gas station, 128 S. Gary Avenue around 9:30 p.m. September 14. Anyone with information is asked to call Bloomingdale Police Department Investigator Matt Wolenberg at (630) 529-9868.