Woman carjacked in Wicker Park on Friday afternoon; hijackings up nearly 100% in the area this year

Carjackers struck again in Wicker Park on Friday afternoon as hijackings in that neighborhood and nearby Bucktown surge nearly 100% higher than last year’s pace.

A 56-year-old woman told police she was in her parked car on the 1200 block of North Wolcott when three masked men ordered her out of the vehicle at gunpoint around 1:40 p.m.

She followed their commands and the men drove off with her white Audi Q3. They ditched the woman’s phone on the 1800 block of West Chicago as they headed away from the scene, according to a CPD report.

On Wednesday evening, two men grabbed a woman by her throat and robbed her at gunpoint on the 1700 block of West Pierce. While they did not take the woman’s car, the offenders did get away with her phone and purse.

According to public records, police recorded 32 carjackings in Wicker Park and Bucktown this year as of September 15. That’s up from 18 cases during the same period last year. In 2019, there were only six carjackings by mid-September.

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