One carjacking attempt failed in Wicker Park on Saturday morning, but another one succeeded less than 15 minutes later in West Town, according to Chicago police. No injuries were reported in either crime, which may have been carried out by the same group of offenders.
Around 11:34 a.m., a 34-year-old woman was sitting in her car on the 1600 block of West Pierce when two men walked up and ordered her to open the door while pointing a gun in her direction, police said. The woman had another idea. She immediately called 911, which brought a quick end to the carjacking effort.
The would-be victim told police that the offenders might have been following her in a silver SUV before approaching her at her garage. Police determined that the license plate number she gave them from the suspect vehicle is associated with a stolen silver Toyota RAV4.
Then, around 11:41 a.m., a 41-year-old man was loading things into his 2019 Dodge Durango when a hijacker pointed a gun to his face and demanded control of the vehicle on the 1500 block of West Superior, according to a CPD report. The victim complied, and the carjacker drove away with his truck. An SUV carrying possible accomplices followed the stolen vehicle out of the area.
The carjackers in the first incident are described as two Black males between 20- and 25-years-old. One wore a gray hoodie, a light-colored jacket, and faded jeans. The other wore a gray hoodie, a white shirt with a large heart-shaped logo on the front, and black pants.
In the second case, the armed man is described as a thin Black male who stands about 6-feet tall and wore a black mask.
Area Three detectives are investigating.
Chicago police data, which is quarantined for a week before being released to the public, show nine carjackings reported in the first two days of July. That compares to three during the opening days of the month in 2020.
There were 132 carjackings last month, compared to 114 in June 2020; 111 in May compared to 96 in May 2020; 99 in April, up from 64 during the same month last year; and 82 in March, up from 57 a year before.
From January 1 through July 2, Chicago police took 774 carjacking reports, compared to 475 during the same time last year.
Despite all of that, CPD claimed in a July 1 press release that “the decline of vehicular hijackings continued” during June.
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