Chicago police are investigating two carjackings reported in Wrigleyville and Boystown, including one that played out as crowds left the annual Chicago Pride Parade.
That hijacking occurred in the 3500 block of North Clark around 5 p.m. Sunday, police said. The 48-year-old victim told police he returned to his car and found a man in the driver’s seat displaying a firearm.
Police said the hijacker was last seen driving the man’s 2008 Audi eastbound, the wrong way, on Roscoe Street. No description of the hijacker was available.
About three hours later, the victim found the car abandoned on the outbound ramp of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street.
Then, another driver was carjacked at Halsted Street and Buckingham Place around 4:45 a.m. Monday. A CPD spokesperson said the police report was not finalized as of mid-morning.
According to preliminary information from the scene, a male driver was carjacked at gunpoint for his gold Ford Focus. It was last seen heading west on Buckingham.
The hijacker was described as a Black male wearing a hat who stood 5’6″ to 5’10” tall. He was armed with a blue steel handgun.
Carjacking reports citywide are down 30% compared to last year. But the number of cases seen so far this year, 524 as of last Saturday, is more than double the number at this point in 2019.
Police received 50 carjacking reports during the first 17 days of this month, down from 84 during the same period last year.
Vehicular hijacking cases began to fade last summer as the “Kia Boy” phenomenon arrived in Chicago.
Using a simple technique shared widely on social media, thieves can steal many Kia and Hyundai models with little more than a USB plug.
Auto theft reports skyrocketed immediately, and there are no signs that the problem will end soon. Car theft reports are up 133% this year compared to the same time last year and up 235% compared to 2019, according to CPD’s latest CompStat data.