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Teens Caught After Evanston 'L' Train Robbery

EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- Police on Thursday apprehended two teenage boys who are charged with robbing a 58-year-old man on a CTA Purple Line 'L' train.

The boys, ages 15 and 16, allegedly attacked and robbed a man around 4:15 p.m. Thursday on the train as it approached the South Boulevard stop in Evanston, according to Evanston police.

The man, 58, was using his Apple McIntosh laptop at the time, and one of the boys punched him in the forehead, police said. The boy took the laptop, while the other boy held the door to the train open so they could escape.

A third person also ran off with the boys and they all ran down the stairs at the South Boulevard stop, police said.

Evanston police found three suspects at Howard and Paulina streets in the Rogers Park neighborhood, all of whom ran away. Officers chased them and caught two of the suspects, and after a search, found the man's laptop in one of the boys' backpacks, police said.

The boys, both of Chicago, were positively identified as the robbers, and taken to the Evanston police station. They have been charged as juveniles with robbery, police said.

The incident comes on the heels of a similar robbery on an 'L' train that had tragic consequences.

On Monday afternoon, a robber running out of a Brown Line 'L' train with a stolen iPhone was running down the stairs at the Fullerton 'L' stop when he knocked down Sally Katona-King, 68, sending her tumbling down the stairs. Katona-King was pronounced dead the following day.

Police continue to search for the robber, and have released a sketch.

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