Which type of area was your bike stolen from?:
Front of building in residential area.
How was the bike locked?:
How long was the bike locked in this location?:
It was not locked - I did not have time to lock it before it was stolen.
Incident Description:
I know exactly what happening. Normally I lock my bike to a street sign in front of my apartment building - 6114 N. Winchester Ave, in Roger's Park.
I arrived home as it was getting pretty dark. As I was about to start locking the bike, three black children (they seemed about 10-14) pointed at an outdoor cat and said "Is that your cat?" In the dark, the cat kinda did resemble mine, so I immediately went to the cat to examine it. Probably 20-30 seconds passed, and when I returned my bike, and all the kids, were gone.
I promptly walked to Emmerson Park, where I saw three kids who might have been the same ones. When I approached them, they ran. One tripped, and I asked him where my bike was - he said it was taken by the other two kids, not him.
I suspect these kids live somewhere in my neighbourhood, but I've no proof and I probably couldn't identify any of them.