Police are investigating after a group of carjackers shot a driver and dragged him from his car in the South Loop on Friday evening. The victim is at least the third person to be shot during a robbery in the neighborhood already this year. One of those victims died, also in a suspected carjacking.
Around 8:55 p.m. Friday, the 30-year-old was sitting in his car, waiting for a passenger on the first block of East Cullerton, when five men approached his vehicle, police said.
Each of the men had a gun and one of them ordered him to get out of his white Jaguar. But the victim refused. So, one of the hijackers shot him in the thigh and dragged him from the car, according to a CPD statement.
The carjackers piled into the man’s vehicle and sped from the scene. A passing CPD patrol unit saw the Jaguar leave at high speed and turn south on Wabash. But the officers stopped to assist the victim rather than pursue the car.
EMS took the victim to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.
South Loop robbery shootings
Investigators suspect that a carjacker killed the 44-year-old man who was found lying dead in the street near the corner of 24th Street and Michigan Avenue early on February 6.
Police at the scene said the man, who lived near Millennium Park, was found in the street as if he were about to enter a car. He was lying amidst broken auto glass, but no vehicle was next to him. He suffered two gunshot wounds to his back and was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers found shell casings near his body.
Investigators have confirmed that the white 2015 Mercedes GLA he was driving that night went missing.
Then, on February 12, a 30-year-old concealed carry holder exchanged gunfire with a man who shot at him during a likely robbery attempt on the 2200 block of South Michigan. The concealed carry holder was shot and survived. The assailant escaped.