Video has emerged of a carjacking that unfolded in the West Loop on Monday evening. CWBChicago first told you about the crime this morning. The footage, provided by a reader, begins after the hijacker and the victim fought for control of the car’s keys.
A 40-year-old man was walking away from his car on the 800 block of West Van Buren when the carjacker pushed him from behind and took his keys around 7:37 p.m., according to a CPD spokesperson.
The two fought for the keys, but the hijacker managed to get in the white Range Rover and lock the doors.
That’s where the video begins:
A separate surveillance video showed the carjacker standing about 5’10” tall with long dreadlocks and wearing a black ski mask, a gray t-shirt, and faded jeans.
On Saturday in the West Loop, another driver told police he was carjacked by a man who displayed a gun on the 300 block of North Green around 11:30 p.m.
CPD took 555 carjacking reports between January 1 and May 2 this year, an increase from 531 at this point last year. The period had 264 cases in 2020 and 160 in 2019, according to the city’s data portal.
In April, there were 116 reported carjackings citywide, an increase of 16%. April last year had 100 cases, April 2020 had 64, and April 2019 had 45.