Police have identified a carjacking pattern in Wicker Park, Bucktown, and West Town that involves a hijacker who gets into occupied vehicles with a handgun.
It’s the second active hijacking pattern that police have identified in the area this week. Each pattern represents a different person or group that investigators believe is responsible for a series of crimes.
Newly identified carjacking pattern
The newer alert involves a solo carjacker who struck once on Valentine’s Day and twice on Monday. Police said he enters the passenger side of occupied vehicles and orders the occupants out at gunpoint. Then, he moves over to the driver’s side and takes control of the car.
His most recent hijacking was on the 1900 block of North Milwaukee around 5:28 p.m. Monday. Police said he hijacked another driver about 30 minutes earlier on the 1300 block of North Western in West Town.
On February 14, he forced a driver out of a blue Chevy Malibu on the 1500 block of North Milwaukee around 8 p.m.
The CPD alert described him as a Black male between 18- and 25-years-old who wears a purple and yellow jacket, black skullcap, face mask, and low-hanging pants.
Area Five detectives are investigating the crimes listed as pattern #P22-5-011. Their number is 312-746-7394.
Previously-announced pattern
Area Five detectives warned about another hijacking pattern in Wicker Park, Avondale, and Logan Square earlier this week. Two men are displaying guns and threatening to shoot victims if they do not surrender valuables and their vehicles, according to a community alert that CPD issued Tuesday.
Detectives have linked four hijackings since mid-February to the pair:
At 8:20 p.m. on February 16, one of the men climbed into the passenger seat of a woman’s car as she settled behind the wheel on the 1400 block of North Hoyne, CPD spokesperson Kellie Bartoli said. The other man then opened the 25-year-old driver’s door and pulled her from the car, according to Bartoli.
The hijackers headed north on Hoyne with the woman’s car. CPD plate reading technology detected the stolen car traveling on the 2500 block of North Lakeview in Lincoln Park about 45 minutes later, but officers did not locate the vehicle. No arrests have been made.
At 7:56 p.m. on February 18, a silver minivan pulled in front of a driver on the 3100 block of North Sacramento. Two men emerged from the van with guns and forced the victim from his white Honda Accord.
At 10:03 a.m. on February 19, 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.
Most recently, two men stepped out of a dark-colored vehicle and forced a 65-year-old man from his silver 2020 Hyundai Elantra on the 2100 block of North Maplewood around 2 a.m. Monday.
According to the community alert, the suspects are:
- a Black male wearing dark clothing
- a Black male with braided hair wearing a blue puffy coat and a ski mask.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Area Five detectives at 312-746-7394 about crime pattern P22-5-010.