Chicago police are urging residents of the city’s Bucktown neighborhood to be careful after a string of armed carjackings took place within a three-hour span on Monday.
Surveillance footage from the 2100 block of West Moffat shows a maroon SUV that Chicago police believe was involved in an armed carjacking that took place at the location just before 9 p.m. Monday.
Neighbors say that a babysitter was finishing a shift as her friend waited to take her home. Then, four men approached the vehicle in an incident captured on video.
“She was pulled out of the car by one of them,” a neighbor said. “I caught the red SUV, and a little smaller car on its tail, and they were driving down the street fairly quickly.”
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According to neighbors, the thieves stole the woman’s car, purse, phone and even her shoes. Now, they are left in shock, fearing that they could be targeted next.
“An innocent person was just idling her car, waiting for another person to come out. Next thing you know, crime happened,” neighbor Cary McElhinney said.
Police believe the group is behind four armed carjackings within a span of less than three hours Monday.
Local
-1500 block of North Honore at 8:03 p.m.
-1900 block of West Wabonsia at 8:15 p.m.
-2100 block of West Moffat at 8:57 p.m.
-1700 block of West Le Moyne at 10:40 p.m.
“The fact that there was a weapon involved is definitely scary,” McElhinney said.
Steve Jensen of the Bucktown Community Organization says that he and his neighbors are fed up with the response of Chicago police to similar incidents.
“These kids will not be thrown in jail,” he said. “No consequences, so until there are, carjackings in Bucktown will continue, unfortunately.”
Chicago police describe the thieves as Black males between the ages of 20 and 30, standing between 5-feet-8 and 6-feet tall and weighing between 150 and 180 pounds. One was wearing a white tank top and a black ski mask, while another was in a black sweatshirt and black pants.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Chicago police.
