Police were searching for multiple suspects after a theft at a Nordstrom store in a popular suburban mall Tuesday afternoon led to a crash and armed carjacking a nearby school.
Police said the theft took place just before 1 p.m. at 4937 Old Orchard Center in Old Orchard mall in Skokie.
A witness reported seeing five men running out of the store with purses in hand. The men got into a stolen silver Audi and fled before crashing into another vehicle on the west side of the mall, authorities said.
The suspect then left the vehicle behind before running toward the parking lot of Niles North High School, Skokie police said.
Minutes later, one suspect - described as a bald black man in his 30s, standing about 6 feet tall, with a thin build and wearing a black coat - pulled out a gun and stole a Jeep from two people in the school's parking lot.
Before the suspect left the scene in the Jeep, he was seen picking up four others.
A Niles police spokesman confirmed an aggravated vehicular hijacking was reported in the parking lot of the school, but said school remained in session Tuesday afternoon.
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The stolen Jeep was later found abandoned and on fire near Cicero and Peterson avenues in Chicago, authorties said. Video from NBC's Sky 5 chopper showed the torched vehicle at the edge of the Forest Glen Woods. Skokie police searched the area along with Lincolnwood Police and Chicago police, but no suspects were found.
The incident was under investigation Tuesday but police said no one was injured as a result of the carjacking.
Anyone with information or who may have witnessed what happened is being asked to call the Skokie Polie Department at (847) 982-5900.
Check back for more on this developing story.
