A 19-year-old student from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago was riding a CTA train on the afternoon of Feb. 4 when two unknown men in the same car approached him and ordered that he empty his pockets.

After seeing that one of the men was carrying a handgun, the man complied and handed over his wallet, which contained $20 in cash and various IDs and credit cards.

The offenders then exited at the Jackson Red Line CTA train stop, and the victim promptly called his credit company to have his account put on hold. The suspects were believed to be in their early 20s, and one had a tattoo on his neck.

Police checked out a report of a suspicious man at the Block 37 retail complex on the morning of Feb. 5. At around 10:45 a.m., a security officer at the building, located at 108 N. State St., observed a 42-year-old man enter the shopping center while wearing a ski mask.

The guard approached the man and asked him to remove the mask, but he refused and continued walking. The guard followed him, who upon seeing that he was being trailed turned around and displayed a pair of scissors and asked the guard why he was pursuing him.

Police officers arrived around that time and upon approaching the man ordered him to drop the scissors, to which he complied. A background check showed that the suspect had no prior warrants.

A 32-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman wound up in cuffs after trying to ride the train for free on the afternoon of Feb. 5.

At 4:00 p.m., an undercover officer observed the two illegally passing though the turnstiles at the Harrison Red Line CTA station — the man sliding past the entrance bars while the woman entered behind a paying rider. After entering the platform area, both subjects were arrested and taken to the 1st District police station for processing.

An employee at a business on the 200 block of South Wacker Drive told police that the firm had received a bomb threat on the morning of Feb. 3.

The complainant said that starting at 10:47 a.m. that day she received four calls in which a woman with a “Caribbean-sounding” accent stated that she was going to send a bomb to the company’s address.

The victim stated that the suspect used vulgar language in at least two of the calls, and when asked to repeat the statement said, “Are you deaf? I’m sending a bomb.”

The suspect made the calls — which lasted approximately 20 seconds each — from a phone with a blocked ID number. The firm had reportedly inquired with their phone service provider about the calls following the incident.

Police arrested a man for forcing services on pedestrians at Union Station on the afternoon of Feb 2.

According to a police report, an officer from a tactical unit observed Michael Anderson, of the 600 block of East 133rd Street, grabbing people’s bags as they exited taxis and trying to negotiate payment in return for carrying their luggage to the train station, located on the 200 block of South Canal Street.

The officer said that this unsolicited interaction forced travelers to have to stand in the road, causing oncoming cars to swerve out of the way. Anderson, 38, was placed under arrest and transported to the 1st District police station.

On the evening of Feb. 2, an unknown man wearing a ski mask approached two people on the 200 block of North Wells and held them up with a five-inch knife. According to the victims, the man said “Give me your money, just cash.” The victims complied and handed over a total of $81 in cash, after which the man fled northbound on Wells.

n This summary contains information taken from the crime reports and arrest records of the 1st District of the Chicago Police Department. Anyone named has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.