Carjacker arrested after sending Northwestern’s Chicago campus into brief lockdown

An armed carjacking on the North Side ended with an arrest in Streeterville on Monday afternoon — but not until Northwestern University briefly put one of its buildings on lockdown. No injuries were reported.

It all started at 12:48 p.m. on the 2000 block of West Arthur in West Rogers Park when a hijacker confronted a driver with a black handgun and took their red Mazda 6, according to a CPD report.

The carjacker drove away with the Mazda, followed by a silver car that was driven by an accomplice.

CPD license plate readers quickly located the Mazda on southbound Lake Shore Drive. Cops intercepted it at Chicago Avenue just after 1 p.m. and a 19-year-old man ran from the vehicle.

A CPD unit blocks the carjacked Mazda on southbound Lake Shore Drive at Chicago Avenue. Police said they found a gun (inset) on the car’s floorboard. | CPD

Northwestern transmitted an active threat for its Chicago campus, advising people to “Run, Hide, Fight. Take proper shelter. Lock and/or barricade doors” while CPD and Northwestern University Police searched for the hijacker.

A subsequent all-clear message said police apprehended the suspect in the basement of the Ward Building, which is part of Northwestern’s medical school.

Chicago later tweeted a photo of a firearm lying on the car’s floorboard. Charges are pending as detectives investigate.

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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