A carjacker fired a gun while trying to hijack a man’s vehicle on the North Side yesterday evening, then struck the victim with their getaway car as they fled the scene, police said. CPD is also investigating armed hijackings reported Thursday evening in Lincoln Park and West Town.
The most violent hijacking was reported on the 2900 block of West Irving Park Road around 6:24 p.m.
A 34-year-old man was standing next to his vehicle when two hijackers confronted him with a handgun and demanded his property, according to a CPD spokesperson. One of the offenders held a gun to the victim’s head while the other grabbed the victim’s property.
But the victim pushed the gunman away to escape, and the offender fired a gunshot, police said. No one was injured.
The spokesperson said that both robbers returned to a red Honda Accord that they arrived in and fled the scene — striking the victim as they left and causing scrapes to his left leg. The victim’s car was not taken, but the robbers did get his wallet and phone.
Police did not release descriptions of the suspects.
In the Lincoln Park incident, a 27-year-old man stepped out of his car with the keys in the ignition on the 2400 block of North Clark when he saw someone get into the driver’s seat around 6:20 p.m., the spokesperson said.
He approached his car, but the offender displayed a handgun and drove away with the black 2008 Toyota Corolla. Witnesses reported that an accomplice ran from the scene.
Officers at the scene said the primary offender is a Black male who is 13- or 14-years-old. He stood 5’9″ tall and wore a black shirt with black jeans. The one who ran north on Clark Street has a similar description, except he reportedly wore a dark-colored hoodie.
Then, a 59-year-old man’s SUV was hijacked on the 2200 block of West Iowa in West Town around 9:56 p.m.
Police said the victim was standing next to his black 2001 Toyota Highlander when a gunman walked up and demanded control of the vehicle. The offender fled in the victim’s SUV and appeared to be accompanied by an accomplice who drove a red four-door Audi.
According to public records, Chicago police took reports for 125 carjackings during the first 16 days of December. That’s up 60% from the 78 cases reported during the same period last year. There were only 27 hijackings citywide during the first 16 days of December 2019.