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| Police warn of seven carjackings stretching from the North to Near West Sides of the city on Friday |
UPDATE APRIL 30, 9:26PM—The Chicago Police Department this afternoon released a revised version of its community alert.
The new alert states that the spree involved one carjacking and six thefts of vehicles that were left running. We have updated our original story minimally to reflect the new information.
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An afternoon auto theft attempt was foiled in Wrigleyville yesterday—one of seven similar attempts within 12 hours, according to a Chicago police alert. The crime wave swept from Lakeview to the Magnificent Mile to West Town.
In the Wrigleyville case, a group of four teenagers tried to steal a man’s car in the 3500 block of North Clark Street around 2:45 p.m.
Witnesses reported seeing the car owner’s wrestling with some of the offenders about a half-block south of Wrigley Field, according to a source.
The teens eventually gave up and jumped into a gray Hyundai Sonata that crashed into a couple of cars before continuing down Eddy Street in the wrong direction.
Six other cases included in the police warning also involved offenders who either took cars at gunpoint or stole vehicles while owners left the cars running:
• The 800 block of North Michigan at 9:45 a.m.
• The 1700 block of West Wabansia at 10:20 a.m.
• The 700 block of West Hubbard at 11:19 a.m.
• The 1900 block of North Lincoln at 6:45 p.m.
• The 700 block of North Armour at 7:05 p.m.
• The 1300 block of North Bosworth at 9:05 p.m. (Carjacking at gunpoint)
Police described the suspects as black males who were last seen wearing all dark clothing or a black and gray hooded sweatshirt.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call Area North detectives at 312.744.8263
Restaurant Whoa!
CWBChicago has learned of another carjacking pattern in which offenders are stealing pricey cars while victims make valet parking arrangements at eateries in Fulton Mark and on Randolph Street’s Restaurant Row.
Chicago police have not yet warned about this pattern, but two sources have confirmed that young offenders are jumping into idling cars and racing away while the vehicles’ owners are exchanging information with valet parking attendants.
At least one driver has been physically bowled over by offenders who were hell-bent on stealing his ride.
The latest known incident occurred on Wednesday evening, according to our sources.
