CHICAGO — A man was carjacked at gunpoint as he parked on the border of Uptown and Andersonville early Saturday morning, according to Chicago police. The hijacking comes as carjacking reports are, for the first time in several months, increasing from levels seen last year.
The driver, 30, told police he was carjacked while parking in the 1300 block of West Foster around 1:15 a.m.
A stolen Hyundai Elantra pulled up near his car, and several people got out, including two armed with handguns, a CPD spokesperson said. They robbed the man and drove away with his 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, last seen heading east down an alley.
The CPD spokesperson said the Hyundai was reported stolen on October 28 from the 700 block of East 82nd Street. Cops found it abandoned in the 1200 block of West Winnemac shortly after the carjacking, according to a CPD report.
An officer who responded to the scene said the hijackers were a group of three to six Black males, possibly juveniles, who wore masks.
Year-to-date, carjacking reports are down 25% compared to this point last year. But incidents are still far higher than in 2019, with 628 cases reported this year as of July 9 compared to 262.
But reports are ticking higher in July, a departure from the consistent year-over-year declines the city has seen through much of this year. CPD recorded 45 hijackings during the first eight days of July, compared to 36 during the same period last year. There were eleven cases in the first eight days of 2019. That’s all according to the city’s crime data portal.
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 129% this year compared to the same time last year and up 234% compared to 2019, according to CPD’s latest CompStat data.