Homeless man beaten, stabbed in Elgin

A 22-year-old homeless man was beaten and stabbed in the back by four assailants at 12:22 p.m. Friday in Elgin's Metra commuter lot, police said.

Robert Robbins, who is listed as homeless, was involved in an argument with four men in the commuter lot at 109 W. Chicago St., police said.

After the altercation, Robbins went into a convenience store across the street from the Metra lot, police said.

When Robbins left the store, the argument continued and escalated and he ran across the street again to the Metra lot, where his four attackers surrounded him and beat him, police said.

Robbins suffered a deep gash in his back, police said.

Robbins was arrested on Feb. 4 by Elgin police at the Clock Tower Plaza and accused of selling pirated DVDs.

When Robbins was arrested, police said they found a knife with a 4.5-inch blade in his belt and about four grams of marijuana in his sock.

Elgin police asked anyone with information about the attack to call (847) 289-2600 or the tip line number at (847) 695-4195.