A 26-year-old woman is in custody and facing multiple charges of aggravated battery after Chicago police say she attacked at least 10 victims with a bat in separate incidents across several neighborhoods on the northwest side.
According to authorities, Denise Solorzano, of Chicago, is facing three felony counts of aggravated battery in a public place, four felony counts of aggravated battery with use of a deadly weapon and one felony county of aggravated assault involving a vehicle.
Solorzano is expected to appear in bond court Thursday.
According to officials, each of the attacks occurred during the daytime hours between Sunday and Tuesday, and took place in neighboring communities, including Albany Park, Ravenswood and Irving Park.
In each of the incidents, a woman driving a white sedan exits the vehicle and begins to batter the victims, all of whom were female, officials say. The attacker than flees the scene.
One of the attacks, caught on cell phone video, shows a woman with a bat attacking violently a female walking with her young daughter in a stroller.
At least five women were the victims of a string of attacks on Chicago’s Northwest Side Tuesday, police said.
In another, the victim reported that the assailant physically assaulted and verbally threatened her.
“She was yelling at me ‘why are you looking at me?’ Go ahead and call the police!’ There were expletives,” the victim, still traumatized by her experience, told NBC Chicago.
“I took a step forward and she pulled me down by my ponytail to the ground,” she said. “She ripped my shirt and scratched the right side of my neck. Then she left.”
The victim says she was exercising near the Ravenswood Manor School at the intersection of Campbell and Wilson at approximately 2:30 p.m. Sunday when she was approached by a woman who had just gotten out of a white sedan.
That was when the suspect lunged at her.
The victim said she began to walk back around the school to get away from the scene, and that’s when she encountered the assailant a second time.
“She stopped and got out of her car again and came towards me,” she said. “And she was like ‘I’m not done with you.’”
Below are some of the locations and times of the attacks, as provided by Chicago police. In at least three of the incidents, two females were attacked.
- May 7, 2:59 p.m.: 4200 block of North Richmond Street
- May 7, 3:46 p.m.: 400 block of West Lawrence Avenue
- May 9, 11:27 a.m.: 4500 block of North Mozart Street
- May 9, 11:37 a.m.: 4100 block of North Campbell Avenue
- May 9, 12:00 p.m.: 3000 block of West Bel Plaine Avenue; 3000 block of West Cullom Avenue