"I saw he had a gun:" UW-Milwaukee freshman targeted in rash of robberies on city's East Side



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A group of teens arrested after a chase in a stolen car. Milwaukee police say this crew is responsible for more than a dozen armed robberies, most of them on the city's East Side over the past few days.

Bartlett and Kenwood is the area where several people were held up at gunpoint this week. FOX6 News spoke to one victim who never thought her freshman year at UW-Milwaukee would start like this.

A UWM freshman was walking to her friend's house on North Bartlett around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 9th when suddenly two guns were pointed at her.

"I saw he had a gun. I looked back at the first guy and he had a gun out too. He told me to drop everything - told me to turn around and not look back," said the victim.

The robbers took her cell phone and wallet. She ran to her friend TJ's house.

"I feel bad for her, I guess because she's a freshman and it's the first few weeks of school. Shocking. We're from a small town," said TJ.

Milwaukee police say overnight, police spotted a stolen car near 72nd and Hampton. They chased it and eventually caught up with that car near 23rd and Capitol. Five teens in all were arrested. Police believe they are responsible for the most recent crime spree.

There is concern about what's happening.

"We've had in the last few weeks, three different crime crews we've arrested. Each time there has been a temporary abatement, then we get another spike with a whole new crew," said

"Just never would expect it to happen, especially to me. It really doesn't happen to me  - especially where I'm from. It's kind of a shock, especially since they were my age," said

Police say they arrested teens ages 16, 17, and 18. They also found a weapon in the stolen car.

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