Carjacker threatened victim with a fire extinguisher, left his own car behind in River North: CPD report

Chicago — A River North doorman was carjacked Tuesday morning by a man who armed himself with a fire extinguisher, according to a Chicago police report. The hijacker may also be responsible for shoplifting from an Old Town liquor store on Monday, but more on that twist in a minute.

Around 7:03 a.m., police responded to a report of shots fired inside a residential complex parking garage in the 600 block of North Kingsbury, according to a CPD spokesperson. The officers met with the building’s 26-year-old doorman, who told them that a hijacker confronted him and demanded his car keys. The victim and a witness said the hijacker armed himself with a fire extinguisher from inside the building.

Chicago police guard a Buick Lucerne that the hijacker left behind. | Provided

The carjacker drove the doorman’s Toyota into the parking garage door and then ran to a nearby Buick that he arrived in before the crime, the police spokesperson said. He then decided to go back to the Toyota and drove away with it, leaving his Buick abandoned on the street.

According to CPD records, the same Buick was used by a man who shoplifted from a liquor store in the 1500 block of North Wells on Monday. Perhaps not coincidentally, the driver of the hijacked Toyota returned to the same liquor store moments after the hijacking before driving away.

Police officers at the scene said they suspected that the sound 911 callers believed was a gunshot was probably the sound of the Toyota slamming into the garage door.

The hijacker — and the man seen at the liquor store after the carjacking — is described as a Black male who stands about 6-feet tall. He wore a blue Chicago Bears sweater, black pants, and a ski mask.

Police are piecing the puzzle together, but, no arrests had been made as of Tuesday evening, the police spokesperson said.

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Tim Hecke is CWBChicago's managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America's 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago's managing partner in 2019. He can be reached at tim@cwbchicago.com