The robberies of six DePaul University students early Thursday is believed to be connected to a carjacking crew that has been working the North Side for weeks. That’s according to multiple sources within the Chicago Police Department who spoke with CWBChicago on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
One of the sources added that the crew may also be responsible for several recent armed robberies in Old Town and near Boystown. “The belief is that a huge amount of what we’re seeing is the work of one small group of offenders,” a source said.
All of the carjackings and street robberies have involved four or five offenders packed in a single vehicle, the insider added.
Meanwhile, police on the West Side yesterday recovered the stolen white Audi SUV that was used in the DePaul hold-ups. The car was unoccupied. It was found in the same district where a number of cars taken in vehicular hijackings have re-appeared in recent weeks.
According to an investigative alert that has not been shared with the public, police believe the crew is committing carjackings and then immediately switching into “street robbery mode,” using the stolen car to rob people walking in neighborhoods.
Through last Wednesday, the city had recorded 49 carjackings in the new year, that’s up from 36 at the same point last year; 25 in 2016 and eleven in 2015.
