A food delivery driver was carjacked in Lakeview East on Wednesday evening, and another carjacking failed in the West Loop earlier in the day, according to two CPD reports.
The hijackings come amid a continuing rise in similar crimes across the city, where carjacking reports are up 58% compared to this point last year and up over 200% compared to late July 2019, city records show.
Around 7:15 p.m. yesterday, a 60-year-old delivery person was dropping off food in the 3600 block of North Pine Grove when a man walked up and took control of his car at gunpoint, according to Karie James, a CPD spokesperson.
A total of four offenders then got into the driver’s silver Toyota Camry and headed south on Pine Grove, she said.
According to the victim, the primary carjacker was a skinny Black male who stands 5’10” to 6-feet tall. Another member of the group was a heavyset Black male who wore a hat, white t-shirt, and sweats. All of the suspects reportedly appeared to be in their mid- to late teens.
In Thursday’s West Loop incident, two men presented a handgun and demanded the keys to a man’s Jeep on the 1300 block of West Madison around 1:45 p.m., according to a CPD report. The victim did not immediately comply, and the offenders escaped in a Mercedes GLC that resembles a car that hijackers took in Berwyn on Tuesday night, the report said.
Chicago police logged 104 carjackings this month through last Wednesday, July 21. That compares to 88 during the same period last year.
Citywide, there were 866 carjacking reports this year through July 21 compared to 560 during the same period last year and 285 in 2019.
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