Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with the attempted carjacking of an off-duty Chicago police officer in Uptown on Sunday evening. The off-duty cop fired three shots at the would-be carjacker, but the offender escaped without injury, police said after the incident.
The teen, who has not been identified by name because he is a juvenile, was arrested Tuesday on the 2100 block of West Howard in West Rogers Park, according to a CPD media statement.
Around 11:31 p.m. Sunday, a 23-year-old man and the 37-year-old off-duty cop were sitting in a car on the 1200 block of West Ainslie when the boy walked up and tried to take their Audi A3 at gunpoint, police said.
The officer drew his own gun and fired three shots through the car’s window at the offender, who ran away southbound on Magnolia, the report said. Police searched the area for the suspect, but they initially came up empty-handed.
CPD says the teen is also responsible for two earlier carjackings in the Albany Park neighborhood:
- Around 3 a.m. on June 10, three men tried to carjack a driver on the 3100 block of West Ainslie, but they couldn’t get away because they didn’t know how to drive a stick shift, according to a CPD report. So, they carjacked another driver of his white Kia, the report said.
- At 12:41 a.m. on July 4, a carjacker took a man’s red Ford Explorer at gunpoint on the 3000 block of West Ainslie.
The 16-year-old is now charged with two felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, one count of attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, and two misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
Police have been handling a surge in carjackings across the North Side.
In fact, just 20 minutes before the off-duty officer was targeted, a woman was carjacked at gunpoint on the 6700 block of North Rockwell. The woman was in front of her home when a man got out of a black Lexus, robbed her of her Apple Watch, keys, and phone, and drove away with her black 2019 Ford Fusion, according to a CPD report. The Lexus followed him. At least nine other cases have been reported in West Rogers Park, Lincoln Square, and Ravenswood since last week.
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