A teenage boy carjacked a 71-year-old man at gunpoint near the Gold Coast on Friday evening and later crashed the hijacked SUV in the Loop following a police pursuit, according to police. Prosecutors charged the 16-year-old with aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm and possessing a stolen motor vehicle, Chicago police said.
Two male carjackers confronted the victim on Chestnut Street just west of State Street around 8:35 p.m. Friday, according to a CPD report. They took his silver 2019 Jeep Cherokee and headed onto the expressways at Ontario Street.
Later, Illinois State Police troopers located the Jeep and tried to pull it over, sparking a pursuit that ended when the Jeep crashed into another car at the intersection of Balbo and Wabash in the Loop around 11:45 p.m. Police arrested the 16-year-old after a foot chase.
Three ambulances responded to the crash scene. One person was reported to have serious injuries.
Carjacking reports in Chicago continue to outpace last year’s record, according to the city’s data portal.
There were 114 hijackings citywide last month slightly higher than the 108 reported last May. The month had 96 cases in 2020 and 49 in 2019.
As of June 1, the CPD logged 664 carjackings this year, up from 631 during the same period last year. There were 358 cases during the same period in 2020 and 204 in 2019.
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