Carjacking crew strikes twice in Lakeview, shots fired in separate incident nearby

Editor’s note: CWBChicago will post updates to this story when new information becomes available.


UPDATE 9 p.m. — The shots fired incident on Pine Grove is not related to the two carjacking incidents that occurred moments earlier, according to a source. Police believe the shooting was a targeted, intentional attack.


UPDATE 7:41 p.m. — Chicago police have detained “multiple people” in connection with these crimes and charges are pending, according to Officer Michelle Tannehill, a CPD spokesperson. A source said police recovered the Porsche, the Tucson, and arrested five people, including some adults, in Rogers Park on Thursday evening.


A violent armed robbery and carjacking team that is responsible for a string of crimes across the city, including the shooting of a Bucktown restaurant owner during a carjacking attempt last month, rolled through east Lakeview on Thursday afternoon, firing shots at one man, carjacking a woman, and trying to carjack another, according to a source and information from CPD.

No injuries were reported Thursday, but the same crew on Wednesday night pistol-whipped a driver during a carjacking in the North Park neighborhood and also pistol-whipped a clerk during a convenience store robbery in Bucktown, according to a source.

The approximate locations of Thursday’s incidents. | Multiplottr

Here’s what we know:

Shortly before 4 p.m., three or four men tried to carjack a woman at gunpoint near the intersection of Sheffield and Sheridan in Lakeview. According to preliminary information, the hijacking failed, and the men fled in a Porsche Cayenne and another SUV. CPD had not finalized its report about the incident at the time of our story’s publication, according to a police spokesperson.

About five minutes later, three men confronted a woman in her car on the 700 block of West Briar, Officer Michelle Tannehill said. One of the men displayed a gun and demanded the woman’s property before all three fled in her Hyundai Tucson.

Then, around 4:10 p.m., a 20-year-old man was on the 3500 block of North Pine Grove when someone fired shots at him from a vehicle, according to police. The victim, who ran into a nearby apartment building, was not injured. Officers also found a bullet hole in a window of the apartment building.

Police have determined the Porsche that fled from the Sheffield and Sheridan hijacking attempt was taken in a violent carjacking on the 3200 block of West Foster around 10:17 p.m. Wednesday.

Two men armed with guns confronted a 27-year-old man as he got out of the tan sports car and ordered him to hand over all of his property, police said in a media statement. He gave them his cash and phone. But that wasn’t enough.

One of the hijackers then struck the victim in his head with a handgun before they climbed into the Porsche and drove away. EMS took the victim to Swedish Hospital in good condition, police said.

About 15 minutes later, two men entered the 7-Eleven store at 2010 North Damen and put a gun to the cashier’s head. They robbed the store, and one of the offenders hit the victim in the head with what appeared to be a long pistol, according to a CPD report.

Just before 4 p.m. Thursday — literally as the Lakeview incidents began to unfold — CPD issued a community alert linking the Porsche hijacking and the 7-Eleven robbery to two violent crimes in Bucktown on December 22.

At 12:03 p.m., two armed men confronted a woman on the 1800 block of North Wolcott and went through her pockets to take her valuables.

Just seven minutes later, John Ross, co-owner of The Bristol, 2152 North Damen, was shot by two men who tried to carjack him as he walked to his vehicle from the restaurant’s back door.

Ross suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, and the offenders fled the scene without taking his car.

Area Five detectives listed four suspect descriptions in their community alert:

  • a Black male, 15- or 16-years-old, 5’6 to 5’7″ tall
  • a Black male, 12- or 13-years-old, 5’3″ to 5’4″ tall
  • a Black male in his 20s, 5’10” to 6’1″ tall, 140 to 160 pounds
  • a Black male, 13- to 16-years-old, 5’6″ tall, 110 to 120 pounds

Anyone with information about the crimes can contact investigators at 312-746-7394 about pattern #P21-5-103.

Our exclusive and original reporting is 100% reader-funded. Please make a contribution to our operating fund or purchase a subscription today.

About CWBChicago 6008 Articles
CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com