Police in suburban Niles are investigating after a woman said she was assaulted and carjacked near an AMC movie theater in broad daylight.
The incident took place at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the northwest parking lot near the AMC Theater, located at 301 Golf Mill Center in Niles, the Niles Police Department said.
According to police, a 48-year-old woman reported parking her 2019 BMW X5 SUV in the parking lot near the movie theater. As she began to exit the car, she was pulled from her vehicle by a male suspect, police said.
As a struggle ensued, the woman was punched in the face and thrown to the ground by the suspect. The suspect then drove off in her vehicle, police added.
The woman sustained non-life injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
According to police, at 11:30 a.m., the BMW was located parked and unoccupied near Ashland Avenue and Howard Street in Chicago. It was towed to the Niles Police Department for evidence testing.
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No one was in custody and detectives are investigating.
The incident comes after police in several suburbs, including Wilmette and Glenview, last year issued warnings and alerts about daytime carjackings.
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In 2023, the Niles Police Department reported several stolen vehicles and attempted car thefts at a Costco gas station, located at 7311 N. Melvina.
Each vehicle was taken while the driver was pumping gas with the engine running, according to police.
"I just saw that somebody jumped in my car," Niketa Patel told NBC Chicago in November, of an carjacking that took place at a Niles Costco in November. "He has a ski mask on. So, I was holding the driver’s side door, and I was waving my head, don’t do it. But that guy, he wasn’t scared."
