Police are investigating three carjackings that unfolded in about an hour Sunday morning across West Town and the Near West Side. Investigators believe at least two of the crimes were committed by the same crew.
Most recently, two armed men took a woman’s Kia Sportage on the 1500 block of West Walton in Noble Square. The woman told police that two men got out of a dark-colored Lexus SUV, displayed a gun, and took her car around 5 a.m. She said the hijackers were two Black males in their teens who wore black hoodies.
The same carjackers are suspected of trying to hijack another woman in Humboldt Park shortly before 4 a.m. In that case, the victim reported that a black Lexus SUV and a Jeep blocked her path in traffic on the 1400 block of North Western Avenue, and men got out of the cars with at least one gun.
She quickly reversed her car, sped from the scene, and called police. CPD surveillance camera footage showed the two SUVs traveling together northbound on Western and then performing U-turns to go after the woman’s vehicle, according to police records.
The woman said the offender who had a gun was a male of unknown race who stands about 5’7” tall and has short wavy hair. He wore a gray and black jacket with white shoes.
Just a few minutes after the woman escaped from the would-be carjacking, a group of hijackers took a man’s car as he pumped gas on the Near West Side. That victim was at BP, 1600 West Van Buren, when a man got out of a large Buick SUV, pushed him, and took his 2008 Honda CR-V around 4:03 a.m., according to a police report.
He said the Buick’s driver was a Black male who wore a White Sox baseball hat and a black mask. The offender who pushed him and stole his car was a Black male in his 30’s who stands about 5’10” tall and wore all black clothing, the man reported.
The Buick and the hijacked Honda were last seen entering the Eisenhower Expressway westbound.