Another woman was robbed and carjacked in Bucktown on Tuesday evening. The hijacking unfolded just a couple hundred yards from the 1900 block of West Wabansia, where at least three armed robberies and carjackings have been reported since Friday.
Police said a 23-year-old woman was getting out of her car on the 1600 block of North Winchester around 9:59 p.m. when a man wearing a ski mask walked up and demanded her property. She turned over her purse, and he drove away in her dark green 2021 Jeep Wrangler, according to a CPD report.
A CPD surveillance camera operator spotted the hijacked SUV traveling south on Damen from North Avenue shortly after the crime, possibly accompanied by a Nissan Murano.
Area Five detectives issued a community alert about armed robberies and hijackings in the area on Tuesday afternoon. The crime pattern involves a group of men who exit a maroon-colored SUV to rob people sitting in cars or getting out of cars. Police said the offenders also forced their victims to reveal phone and debit card PINs.
Police linked four incidents on Monday evening to the crew:
- on the 1900 block of North Honore at 8:03 p.m.
- on the 1900 block of West Wabansia at 8:15 p.m.
- on the 2100 block of West Moffat at 8:57 p.m.
- on the 1700 block of West Le Moyne at 10:40 p.m.
According to the alert, the suspects are Black males between 20- and 30-years-old who stand 5’8″ to 6-feet tall and weigh 150 to 180 pounds. On Monday, one of them wore a white tank top with a black ski mask, while another wore a black sweatshirt with black pants.
CWBChicago confirmed several other incidents in the area since Friday:
- A witness reported seeing a woman being attacked by a man who fled in an older model red SUV on 1900 block of West Wabansia around 8 p.m. Monday, but no police report was immediately available for that incident.
- At 9:38 p.m. Friday, a 27-year-old man was pistol-whipped and carjacked on the 1900 block of West Wabansia, according to CPD spokesperson Kellie Bartoli. The victim said he was inside his black 2019 Nissan Altima when a gunman emerged from a gray SUV and ordered him out of the car. As the victim was stepping out, the offender hit him in the head with a handgun, causing him to fall to the ground, Bartoli said. The hijacker then drove away with the man’s car, followed by the gray SUV.
- At 1:45 a.m. Saturday, another carjacking was reported on the 2000 block of West Wabansia, police said. Investigators believe the hijacking was committed by the same crew that struck on Bosworth less than 90 minutes earlier, according to a CPD alert.
- Around 12:20 a.m. Saturday, two men took a man’s Toyota RAV4 at gunpoint on the 1300 block of North Bosworth in Noble Square, according to a CPD alert. The victim was dropping off a woman after their first date when they encountered two cars that were double-parked on Wabansia. Those two cars blocked the man in and carjacked him.
- Two men using a gray Toyota RAV4 tried to carjack a driver on the 2000 block of North Wolcott around 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The driver foiled the hijacking attempt by accelerating away from the scene.
- At 12:55 p.m. Sunday, two men stepped out of a gray Toyota RAV4 and tried to rob a man at gunpoint on the 2200 block of West Polk. But the man was not carrying anything of value and the offenders fled empty-handed, according to CPD records.
Area Five detectives are handling the investigation.
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