CHICAGO — Police are investigating an armed carjacking reported in the West Loop early Sunday. No injuries were reported during the hijacking, which unfolded in the 1000 block of West Carroll around 12:40 a.m.
Two men, ages 25 and 26, were sitting in a black 2015 Audi when a silver SUV pulled up behind them, a Chicago police spokesperson said. Two men wearing ski masks got out of the SUV and ordered the victims out of the Audi at gunpoint, and the victims complied.
The gunmen drove away with the Audi and left the area, followed by the SUV, which may have been an Infiniti. Police did not release descriptions of the suspects.
Earlier this week, Chicago police warned about an armed crew that committed seven carjackings between late Monday night and Tuesday evening. CPD linked the group to crimes stretching from Rogers Park to Lincoln Park to West Town.
But carjacking reports citywide are down 29% this year compared to last year’s record pace, according to CPD’s data, with 370 cases reported as of April 20 compared to 518 at the same point in 2022. Still, hijackings are happening far more often than in the pre-COVID era. There were 241 cases as of April 20, 2020, and only 143 by this time in 2019.