Chicago — A woman was carjacked in North Center on Friday evening, just a few hours after two armed robberies were reported in Lincoln Square.
The hijacking, reported in the 3700 block of North Bell, has been linked to a carjacking attempt in the suburbs in which the offenders fired shots, according to preliminary information.
Two men confronted a woman on Bell around 10:40 p.m. and implied they had firearms under their clothes while demanding her keys, a Chicago police report said. They took her gray Jeep Cherokee and fled the scene, followed by a red sedan.
The sedan, which is also stolen, was used in a carjacking attempt in Berwyn recently, and the offenders fired their weapon during that incident.
Earlier in the evening, two robberies were reported in about 15 minutes in Lincoln Square:
- three men robbed a man at gunpoint near Eastwood and Leavitt around 6:40 p.m. and fled in a silver sedan with his keys, wallet, and phone.
- another man was robbed at gunpoint by three men in the 4700 block of North Virginia shortly before 7 p.m. Again, three offenders escaped in a silver sedan, which may be a Chevy Malibu.
Another carjacking was reported Thursday evening in nearby Roscoe Village.
A CPD spokesperson said the woman was getting out of her blue BMW X3 when a white Jeep pulled up in the 3400 block of North Leavitt around 9:30 p.m. Two hijackers got out of the Jeep, brandished a gun, and demanded the woman’s keys and other personal belongings.
According to police, they were last seen heading north in the alley, followed by the Jeep. The woman was unharmed.
All of the incidents occurred in CPD’s Town Hall (19th) District, where holdups have increased 32% over last year. Robberies in the district are up 25% compared to 2020, 48% over 2019, and 5% from 2018, according to CPD records.
