Armed carjackers forced a man from his sports car in the Uptown neighborhood on Saturday evening, the fourth such crime in the area since Tuesday. Police believe at least three of the incidents are the work of a single carjacking crew, according to a source. No one is in custody. Police have been cautioned that the carjacking crew may be using one or more TEC-9 handguns.
Saturday’s victim waved down a passing patrol car at 7 p.m., moments after he was forced out of his white 2018 Audi at gunpoint in the 1000 block of West Winona Street. The officer pursued the stolen Audi, but he lost the car as it approached Lake Shore Drive and Diversey. It was last seen heading south on Lake Shore Drive at Michigan at a “very high rate of speed” by 18th (Near North) Police District officers.
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| Approximate locations of this week’s carjackings |
At the same time, officers in the neighboring 19th (Town Hall) Police District located a gray Honda Civic that had been carjacked in Uptown on Friday afternoon. The driver of the Civic crashed the car at Diversey and Sheridan, then ran away on foot. An extensive police search yielded no arrests.
The officer who was chasing the Audi reported that the Civic was working as a “tail car” in conjunction with the Audi, but the cars became separated near Belmont Avenue.
Armed men took the Civic from its owner in the 4800 block of North Paulina at 4:40 p.m. on Friday. A 20-year-old man was sitting in his car when a Chevy Impala pulled up behind him. Two offenders got out of the Impala and ordered the man to exit his car and to hand over his valuables. After robbing the victim of his personal belongings, the two carjackers got into his Civic and sped away, leaving the Impala in the middle of the road.
On Tuesday evening, a 23-year-old man was carjacked of his Chevy Impala by two offenders in the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Police would not say if the Impala that was abandoned by the carjackers on Paulina is the same as the one taken in Wrigleyville.
Minutes after the Civic was stolen on Friday afternoon, a driver was sitting in a car in the 4400 block of North Greenview when the carjackers pulled up behind him in the just-stolen Honda Civic. One of the carjackers got out of the Civic and ordered the man out of his car while threatening him with a “long-barreled weapon,” according to a police report.
The carjacker took the victim’s Nissan Altima and drove out of the area with the other carjacker following in the Civic.
According to the victims, the carjackers are two to three black men in their late teens or early 20’s. On Friday, one wore a black hoodie with jeans while another wore an orange hoodie.
On Saturday, the driver of the Civic was described by police as a black male in his late teens or early 20’s who was wearing a Nike hoodie and jeans. He stands about 5’8” tall and weighs about 150 pounds.
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