Carjackers physically attacked a 61-year-old woman and took her vehicle near the Loyola University campus in Rogers Park, police said. And two armed men took a woman’s SUV at gunpoint in Wicker Park on Saturday morning.
They’re the latest indications that, while hijacking reports are down from last year’s record high, they continue to occur far more frequently than in other recent years.
In Rogers Park, two men pulled out a gun and struck the woman on the head on the 6400 block of North Sheridan around 4 a.m. Friday, according to a CPD spokesperson. They robbed the woman, then drove away with her blue and green 2017 Nissan Versa.
EMS took the victim to St. Francis Hospital in good condition to treat a laceration on her head, police said.
Then, around 10 a.m. Saturday, two men displayed a handgun and confronted a 33-year-old woman on the 1300 block of North Wood in Wicker Park, according to police. They ordered her to turn over the keys to her black BMW X6, and she complied.
They were last seen heading North on Wood Street in her car.
CPD recorded 213 hijackings citywide this year through Valentine’s Day. That’s down 25% from the same point last year.
But it’s almost 100% higher than the 109 cases recorded citywide as of February 14, 2020. According to the city’s crime data, police logged 61 hijackings through Valentine’s Day 2019.