Another driver was carjacked in Bucktown early Friday, just days after area residents expressed their frustrations with the seemingly endless string of hijackings to a group of aldermen and the local police commander.
The latest victim, a 60-year-old man, was removing items from the trunk of his car on the 2000 block of West Churchill around 1:15 a.m. when an all-too-familiar scenario unfolded.
An SUV pulled up and an armed man got out of the passenger seat to take control of the victim’s car at gunpoint. Police said Friday’s victim backed away from his white 2019 Chevy Malibu when the hijacker confronted him.
A carjacking crew that uses a white Chevy Equinox with Florida plates may be responsible for the crime. Police said Friday’s gunman was a Black male in his early 20s who stands about 6-feet tall and weighs 150 to 160 pounds.
Detectives issued a warning about carjackings in the area on September 25, but the hijackings and robberies have continued.
Police have had some successes.
Around 6:35 a.m. Sunday, a 28-year-old man had just stepped into his car when a black SUV pulled up, and a gunman got out to take his 2008 Infiniti G37 on the 1200 block of North Honore. The hijacker robbed the driver of his valuables and then drove away with his car.
CPD’s carjacking task force, working with the city’s police helicopter and the Illinois State Police, located the car about 12 hours later and arrested a 31-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl who were inside.
The man and girl were released from the police station after being charged with a misdemeanor, according to CPD records.
“I understand some of the frustration is felony versus misdemeanor, that all comes from witness identification,” Lt. Thomas Keene told residents at a community meeting this week. “What that person’s role in the crime was and who can identify them. Can the witness identify them, can the victim identify them?”
Our exclusive and original reporting is 100% reader-funded. Please contribute to our operating fund or purchase a subscription today.