CHICAGO -- Three men wearing women's clothes hit an upscale store in Chicago's fashionable Oak Street shopping district on Tuesday, and the store manager says it's not the first time.

In fact, nearly a half dozen Oak Street merchants, including Jimmy Choo, Moncler and Barneys, have been hit, mostly in broad daylight.

In Tuesday's heist, an employee of Furla says she knew something was up almost immediately after the trio of cross-dressers walked into the store.

"The first time they came they were casing the store for a long time," Deborah Himmel explained.

Then two weeks ago the bandits in drag were back -- briefly -- and made off with a bunch of purses.

"They were not even in here 10 seconds," said Himmel. "It happens so fast you don't have time to react."

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Police said the burglaries are connected by the a similar M.O. and suspect description: two to three black men all wearing female clothing. One of the men is stocky. Only one does the talking, police said, while the others remain silent, casing the store before they hit and escape toward Michigan Avenue with their loot.

Himmel said the bandits use a bag from Forever 21 to carry their goods. She said the "leader" stands about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and is very thin and has long, straight hair.

"Today it was in a headband. Last time in a little ski cap," she said.

But Himmel said the men don't wear high heels.

"You can't run in heels," she said.

Furla store managers say they haven't had a problem in their roughly six years of business. A surveillance system ordered prior to the string of robberies is scheduled to be installed Wednesday.

The body of an elderly woman missing since Saturday was found Monday at the bottom of a trash chute of the Chicago high-rise building in which she lived.

Florence Banta, 80, lived on the 17th floor of the Astor Condominiums, in the 1500 block of North Astor Street.

Her body was found on the ground floor of the trash chute by a building engineer, a Cook County Medical Examiner's Office spokeswoman said.

The building is the same in which a 16-year-old fell to his death in a trash chute a little more than a year ago.

A spokesman at Chicago's Department of Buildings explained at that time that the city code -- written with fire safety in mind -- required a minimum of 18-inch clearance so trash could fall safely but said nothing about maximum size or safety concerns for people or animals.

Banta had previously been reported missing and had last been seen Saturday, said police spokeswoman Antoinette Ursitti.

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Authorites were not releasing further information about Banta's death on Monday evening.

An autopsy to determine manner and cause was scheduled for Tuesday.

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Related:

Teen falls 46 stories to death down high-rise garbage chute

M. Spencer Green/AP file

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy announced a 42 percent drop in murders in the first quarter of 2013.

Three months after Chicago notched the most murders in the nation, officials are touting a dramatic downturn in crime.

In the first quarter of the year, murders dropped 42 percent over the same period last year and shootings were down 27 percent -- reductions that authorities say were fueled by anti-gang initiatives.

"These numbers are progress but they are by no means victory," Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said in a statement.

The encouraging figures come after a series of crimes that made Chicago a symbol of urban gun violence.

The nation's third-largest city ended 2012 with the most slayings: 506. Then came the shooting death of innocent teenager Hadiya Pendleton, who had just performed with her school marching band during President Obama's inauguration weekend activities. She was killed during the deadliest January that Chicago had seen in a decade.

But March, in particular, brought good news for the city and its beleaguered police force: murders down 69 percent, with 36 fewer people slain than in March 2012.

There were still horrific headlines out of Chicago last month, though, such as 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins being gunned down in what police said was a gang-related shooting aimed at her father.

And on the day that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and McCarthy announced the new crime stats, they also had to answer questions about a wild weekend melee by teenagers along the city's Magnificent Mile.

McCarthy told NBCChicago.com that the advent of warmer weather was partly to blame for the disturbance because it brings young people outside.

Since Pendleton's murder, the Police Department has put more officers on the street and City Hall is beefing up after-school and summer job programs to stop youths from falling in with gangs.

McCarthy said the first-quarter numbers are "encouraging" but cautioned that there are no shortcuts to cracking down on crime.

"It's not like a Jenga game where if you pull out that one stick everything falls down," he said.

Several teens were arrested after dozens of mob groups began attacking pedestrians on Chicago’s downtown Magnificent Mile area on Saturday night.

Police responded to reports of disturbances near Michigan and Chicago Avenues.

Police said 28 teens were arrested during the incident and no serious injuries were reported.

The teens charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and battery and later released, according to News Affairs Officer Perkus.

Eleven other teens were charged with the same misdemeanor charges after they attacked a group of women on the CTA Red Line, police said.

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“You have over three to four hundred teenagers with mob action, jumping on individuals that are downtown,” said community activist Andrew Holmes. “Multiple people have been arrested and I caution those parents that get this call about your child being arrested -- maybe you need to check your child.”

Officers began breaking up the attacks by ushering teens to the Red Line. Chaos continued underground but many attackers reportedly left the area.

“I just saw a cluster run down to the Red Line,” said Red Line passenger Amanda Dobson. “I didn't know what was going on. I just kind of stepped back and let the police do what they needed to do.”

Police continued to patrol the area on bikes, horses and on foot as smaller groups wandered around the Loop.

It is not clear if the attacks are related to a similar mobbing of Ford City Mall last month.

Residents were concerned that this could be the first in a long line of attacks after warm weather brought on a string of similar instances last year.

"It's been happening a lot around here," said Eric Baldinger, who works along the Magnificent Mile. "Just keep your wallet close and your purse closer."

Others said the attacks were disappointing and feared for the future of the city.

"I think it’s very childish," said resident Angelica Wilson. "That’s what wrong with the generation today because there’s always petty fights going on down here and everybody getting hurt. We don’t need more problems."

Instagram

A Chicago anti-violence campaign is being criticized for featuring a photo of a 17-year-old rapper who has had run-ins with the law over firearms – including a 2011 conviction for pointing a gun at a police officer.

The anti-violence group 500campaign posted a picture of the young rapper Chief Keef on its Instagram feed this week with the caption, “Angry because over 500 were murdered in Chicago.”

The image prompted an instant backlash from people who thought the rapper with often violent lyrics had no place in an anti-violence ad, with one commenter calling on Keef to "repent of his messages of murder and drugs."

But 500campaign founder Bryant Cross told NBC Chicago the image was appropriate. 

“Chief Keef and brothers like him are the ones we should be engaging,” said Cross, who posts pictures to his campaign's Instagram feed. “We have to be able to engage everyone, not just the people we like.”

Cross said the person who submitted the photo claimed Keef gave his approval.

Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, released his debut album "Finally Rich" through Interscope Records in 2012. Well-known rappers who make cameo appearances on the album include Young Jeezy and 50 Cent.

A month after the record's release, the teen was sentenced to 60 days in juvenile detention for violating probation on the 2011 conviction, after investigators found a music video showing him holding a rifle at a gun range, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I am a very good-hearted person,” the rapper told the judge at his sentencing, the Sun-Times reported. “I am sorry for anything that I have done wrong.”

Music site Pitchfork withdrew the video, saying that the production “was rushed and never should have happened,” citing the violence that led to 506 homicides in Chicago in 2012.

Cross, who created the 500campaign to draw attention to those deaths, said he is planning an anti-violence rally for June 10.

“There’s a depression out here, people are wondering what they can do,” Cross said. “I wanted to get people worked up so they at least feel like there’s something they can do to address the violence.”

Keef tweeted in December that his song "Love Sosa" would be included in the new video game Grand Theft Auto 5. The message was retweeted more than 11,700 times.

“Disrespect them O boys,” Keef raps in the song, “You won’t speak again boy.”

Related:

• Family of slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton preparing for her funeral
• Two charged with murder in Hadiya Pendleton slaying
• Chicago violence on the rise

 Friends and family gathered Tuesday to remember a 6-month-old Chicago girl who was fatally shot last week while sitting on her father's lap.

As Jonylah Watkins' family wept outside the church, her small coffin was placed among stuffed rows of animals and toys. The 11 a.m. funeral at New Beginnings Church was standing room only and crowds gathered outside waiting to get in.

"Jonylah, affectionately known as 'Smooch,' was loved and adored by many," her funeral program reads. "Jonylah was the apple of her parents' eyes. Jonylah had an infectious smile that continually warmed her mother's heart."

During the service, Jonylah's grandmother, Mary Young, read a poem dedicated to stopping violence. "Killing one another will no longer be tolerated by anyone," Young said.

"Our young is in danger on the streets of this town," she said. "Take back your homes."

Read original story, watch video on NBCChicago.com

New Beginnings Pastor Corey Brooks said Jonylah is the youngest victim of gun violence he's ever buried. "It's the youngest child I've ever had to be shot and killed, murdered," he said. "That is totally different than anything I've ever experienced before and something I never, ever want to experience again."

Jonylah was in the family van with her father, Jonathon Watkins, when someone approached and opened fire in the city's Woodlawn neighborhood, police said. That's contrary to initial reports given right after the shooting occurred.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Monday he wanted to set the record straight about what happened. Last week police said Jonylah was shot five times while her father changed her diaper in the passenger seat.

McCarthy said the little girl actually was on her dad's lap in the driver's seat when the gunman approached from the passenger side. McCarthy also said Jonylah was shot once, not the five times the family originally said.

McCarthy said Jonathon Watkins, who has gang ties and 39 arrests, was clearly the intended target. He is cooperating with police, McCarthy said, but needs to offer more.

"At this point, we think there's a lot more that he can help us with, but he is, in fact, cooperating with the investigation," he said. "We think that there's more that he can tell us."

Still McCarthy said he has no doubt an arrest will be made in the tragic case. 

An $11,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooter.

March may go out like a lamb, but it promises to be a lion for the next few days for a huge strip of the country.

A late-season winter storm is predicted to bring snow, ice and even blizzard conditions from the Northern Plains to the New England coast and as far south as the nation's capital.

Wednesday is the first day of spring, but try telling that to people in the affected areas. 

The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for large parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota as winds gusted at 50 mph and snow started piling up late Sunday and early Monday.

Traffic could be snarled in urban centers, especially the Twin Cities, and things might not be much better in Chicago, where just a bit of snow is forecast but freezing rain threatens to bedevil Monday morning commuters.

The wintry mess will spread across the northern Great Lakes region and into the Northeast later Monday and into Tuesday, according to Weather.com.

Full coverage from Weather.com

Most of Wisconsin is under a winter weather advisory, while lake-effect snows are expected in western Michigan. Across the southern Great Lakes, including Cleveland and much of northern Ohio, as well as parts of western Pennsylvania, snow is expected to be followed by freezing rain throughout much of Monday, potentially causing traffic tie-ups throughout the region, according to NBCChicago.com said.

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Much of the same is possible as far south as Washington, D.C. Its far western, northern and southern suburbs in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia were under winter storm warnings and advisories through Monday evening.

Much of the heavily populated Northeast Corridor looks to escape the worst of the snow, but freezing rain and some snow could complicate travel in New York, NBCNewYork.com warned.

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Boston lies just to the east of the weather service winter storm warning area, but much of New England doesn't look likely to be spared the storm.

Most of northern New England was under winter storm warning into Tuesday -- and through Wednesday for much of Maine -- with forecasters predicting up to 14 inches of snow and winds gusting at 25 to 30 mph from Western New York to the Maine coast.

This story was originally published on Mon Mar 18, 2013 5:32 AM EDT

CHICAGO -- An Illinois teen who was injured in a shooting Friday is believed to have shot himself, officials said.

The 17-year-old boy from Elmwood Park was taken to Loyola Hospital in Maywood, Ill., with a gunshot wound to his left groin area when he reportedly told police he was shot by two men wearing ninja masks.

Police investigated, talked to witnesses and reviewed surveillance but found no evidence of the attack. The boy, who has gang ties, confessed that he was driving in a car and playing with a gun when it discharged in his lap, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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Medical personnel said the wound reflected self-infliction and officials are working to determine where the incident occurred to determine which police agency has jurisdiction over the case, according to the Tribune.

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Peter Foley / EPA

Bagpipers march in the 252st Annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York, on March 16, 2013.

With bagpipes galore and plenty of Guinness, Irish-American revelers – and their less lucky non-Irish counterparts – celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with parades across the country on Saturday.

“This is the mother of all St. Patrick’s Day parades,” said Dani O’Connell of New Jersey, who joined the shamrock-wearing masses along New York’s Fifth Avenue. “I’ve got my St. Patrick’s Day parade hat. It’s about getting all dressed up and goofy and having fun – without or without the booze.”

Slideshow: St. Patrick's Day

Paul Beaty / AP

David Westerby of Kenosa, Wis. left, yells during the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, on Saturday.

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Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny marched alongside New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as crowds packed the route of the 252nd annual parade, and presented Bloomberg with a traditional Irish teapot.

“The Irish are found in every borough, every corner of New York,” Kenny said at a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, NBC New York reported. “In previous generations, they came heartbroken and hungry, in search of new life, new hope. Today they come in search of opportunity to work in finance, fashion, film.”

New York’s festivities put those in the old country to shame, said Ewan Armstrong, who was visiting from London.

“I’m really digging the bagpipes,” said Armstrong, 23.

Green-clad lads and lasses in Chicago bundled up for their city’s parade as temperatures hovered in the mid-thirties – but it would take more than that to keep Chicago Journeyman Plumbers from their annual rite dyeing the Chicago River a radiant jade, NBC Chicago reported.

Of course, St. Patrick’s Day does not properly start until Sunday, when Boston will hold its annual parade.

“There’s no place like the City of Boston when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day traditions and celebrations,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement on Friday.

Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images

Members of the Ireland Police department wait to join the rest of the parade on 5th Avenue during the 252th New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 16, 2013.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Tour boats travel the Chicago River after workers dyed it green to kick off the city's St. Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday in Chicago. The dying of the river has been a tradition in the city for 43 years.

Hundreds marched through the streets of Chicago on Saturday to protest the city’s violence that claimed 6-month-old baby Jonylah Watkins on March 12.

The demonstration began at 10 a.m. Dulles Elementary School at 63rd and Calumet Streets and continued down to 65th and Maryland Streets.

The group chanted throughout their walk, shouting, “Stop the violence,” and, “You save my baby, I’ll save your baby.”

Police said father Jonathan Watkins told them he was changing the diaper on his 6-month-old daughter, Jonylah Watkins, on Monday when someone came up behind him and started shooting. Sources told NBC Chicago on Wednesday police had their doubts about that story.

The girl suffered multiple injuries to her little body and died the morning after the shooting. A medical examiner source told NBC Chicago the damage to her thigh, shoulder, lung live and bowels may have been caused by a single bullet.

Jonathan Watkins, police said, has ties to Chicago gang the Gangster Disciples and has an extensive criminal record. Police records show he's been arrested 39 times and was likely the shooter's intended target. Numerous weapons violations and an attempt to steal his car back from police after it was impounded are among the previous charges against the father.

"He paid for his crime. He's fine with that. We're not trying to hide from that. We're not ducking and dodging from that," Pastor Corey Brooks, acting as the family's spokesman, said Thursday night. "But that's not the issue. The issue is a baby got shot and killed and we need everybody to stay on point and stay on focus on what happened."

Jonylah Watkins' funeral has been scheduled for March 19. Brooks said basketball star Derrick Rose has offered to pay for the services.

An $11,000 reward stands for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.