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Cops: Men With 'Assault Type' Rifle Robbing People In Austin

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police are cautioning Austin neighborhood residents after two people were robbed in recent weeks by men carrying an "assault type" rifle.

According to an alert from Area North detectives, the robberies occurred about 9 a.m. on June 23 in the 4800 block of West West End and again about 11:13 a.m. on July 5 in the 4900 block of West Erie.

In both incidents, the suspects walked up to a victim and demanded their property before running to a vehicle that was waiting for them, police said.

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In one robbery, the suspects got into an older model green Dodge minivan with a license plate number that began with the letter "Z." In the other robbery, they got into a newer model white Nissan with an Illinois license plate that started with "E55."

The suspects were described as two or three black men, police said. They are all between 18 and 25 years old, stand between 5-foot-6 and 6-feet and weigh between 125 and 175 pounds. They were armed with an automatic "assault type" rifle.

Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.

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