An armed security guard shot at a man who stole a woman’s car while she was pumping gas at a River North service station on Tuesday evening, Chicago police said. No injuries were reported, but the thief got away with the woman’s car—at least for a while.
Chicago has recorded over 1,000 hijackings this year, passing into four-digit territory ten days ahead of last year’s pace.
Tuesday’s hijacking happened at the BP station, 631 North LaSalle Street, around 6:44 p.m.
According to CPD, a 34-year-old woman left the door to her Volvo open while filling the tank, and a man jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away. The driver’s door cut the woman’s knee, but she refused medical attention.
Meanwhile, a security guard in the station lot pulled out a gun and fired at the offender. He has a valid Firearm Owner’s ID card, according to police, but the department did not say whether he was licensed to carry the weapon in public.
Cops found the woman’s Volvo abandoned and running in the 6600 block of South Champlain in Woodlawn shortly after it was taken.
The hijacking is the eighth of the year in River North, which is a low number when compared to other neighborhoods monitored by CWBChicago. Last year at this time, there had been seven hijackings reported in the area.
CPD took its 1,000th carjacking report of the year on August 6, according to city data. Last year, which saw a record number of carjackings, hit 1,000 carjackings on August 16.