An armed man robbed a woman and tried to carjack her vehicle with a six-month-old girl inside near the Magnificent Mile on Thursday afternoon, police said. The woman lost some property to the offender, but the carjacking failed. Fortunately, the baby is doing just fine.
Police believe the carjacking is connected to a large-scale auto theft from a Northwest Side rental car facility earlier this week.
The 22-year-old woman was on the 800 block of North State around 2:30 p.m. when a man walked up, pointed a handgun at her, and demanded her valuables, a CPD spokesperson said. She handed over her property and the man ran to her car, which was parked on the street nearby.
As the gunman got into her vehicle, the woman opened the SUV’s rear door and pulled the six-month-old girl out of the backseat, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a 60-year-old man intervened in the carjacking attempt, which prompted the offender to point the handgun at him, too, police said. The robber got out of the SUV, got into another car that was waiting nearby, and fled the area. He left the woman’s valuables behind in her car, according to police. No injuries were reported.
After giving up on the carjacking attempt, the gunman got into a four-door black Nissan Altima that sped westbound on Chestnut and then northbound on Dearborn. One other person was in the car.
Police determined that the vehicle, which bears license plate FP124285 was stolen from a Hertz Rental Car facility on the 4600 block of West Belmont this week. A total of ten cars were stolen from the business after thieves broke in and accessed vehicle keys sometime between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to police.
Detectives are investigating the burglary as well as Thursday’s robbery.
