An alleged bike thief has Chicago’s cycling community on alert after a fellow cyclist caught the young man in action and posted his photo online.
The photo was posted on Chainlink, a website for Chicago bicyclists. It shows a young man wearing a backpack and trying to block the camera with his hand. The anonymous user who posted the photo said they caught the alleged thief in Logan Square trying to steal the front tire off a bike.
The user said he made the boy reattach the tire and hand over his wrench.
But fellow cyclists wanted more justice. More than 4,000 people have viewed the post and many have shared the photo on other social networks for bicyclists.
Some users found the suspected thief’s Facebook profile, which shows he is a popular member of several local bike selling groups on Facebook. Some of the groups feature multiple users selling bikes and bike parts. Another group posted the person’s photo with the caption: “YOU ALL KNOW WHO HE IS…AND WHERE HE LIVES… “.
Commenters wondered if the bikes posted on the alleged bike bandit’s Facebook accounts were theirs.
“I’m pretty sure the back wheel on his Craigslist post is mine. It went missing last week on my vacation. I live in Humboldt,” one user commented.
Another posted, “Did he happen to be riding a Biria? My bike was stolen and fits that description.”
On Facebook, users posted screen-grabs of text conversations with the man, highlighting his antics, such as requesting more money from buyers for “gas” to meet them.
A man claiming to be the thief’s brother came to his defense on Facebook. But comments immediately shifted to back-and-forths between him and Facebook users.
