Carjackers took a man’s BMW outside a DePaul building in the Loop on Sunday, but hijacking cases are down sharply this month

Armed carjackers forced a man out of his car in downtown Chicago on Sunday morning, according to a bulletin from DePaul University’s public safety office. But, as CWBChicago predicted earlier this month, hijacking reports are down sharply during October. In fact, the city’s carjacking pace is now trailing last year’s record rate.

DePaul’s alert said a man was sitting in his car outside the school’s Richard M. and Maggie C. Daley Building, 14 East Jackson, when a black sedan pulled up next to him around 5:30 a.m.

Two men got out of the black car, displayed guns, and pulled the victim from his vehicle, the school said. They then drove away in the 48-year-old victim’s white BMW 440i. The black sedan followed the hijacked vehicle. DePaul said the man’s wallet, keys, and phone were still in the car.

A CPD report preliminarily described the hijackers as two Black males who may be juveniles. One wore all-black clothing with white gym shoes, and the other wore a black jacket, gray pants, and black gym shoes, according to DePaul.

Chicago police recover a hijacked vehicle in the Loop on September 1, 2022. | CPD

As of October 22, Chicago police had taken 77 carjacking reports this month, down from 136 during the same period last year. Last October was the fifth-worst month for carjackings since at least January 2001, which is as far back as CPD’s publicly-available data goes.

This month is also pacing behind October 2020, which saw 103 hijackings through the first 22 days. According to the city’s data, that was the 12th worst month for carjackings.

Chicago had 1,354 carjackings reported year-to-date through October 22, down from 1,383 during the same period last year.

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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