'He Actually Skipped Like A Child, All The Way Up:' 11-Year-Old Boy Charged In November Carjacking In Mount Greenwood
CHICAGO (CBS) -- More and more, we're hearing about young teens accused in carjackings – including 16-year-old Emilio Corripio, who is now also charged in the shooting that killed 8-year-old Melissa Ortega in Little Village this past weekend.
On Thursday, someone whose teenage years have not even started yet also appeared in court on carjacking charges. An 11-year-old boy has been charged with carjacking two women at gunpoint in November in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood.
We showed you the unbelievable video of the crime back in November, and CBS 2's Jackie Kostek spoke to the victim.
Police said the boy was arrested Wednesday in West Englewood, after he was identified as one of the carjackers who stole a car at gunpoint from a 36-year-old woman and her 57-year-old mother on Nov. 19, 2021, near 110th Street and Harding Avenue.
While investigating that case, police said the 11-year-old also was seen inside a vehicle that was reported stolen on Nov. 13 in the 7300 block of South Francisco Avenue in the Marquette Park neighborhood.
The boy has been charged with one felony count of aggravated vehicular hijacking and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle.
The older of the two victims appreciates that the Chicago Police Department kept in constant contact with her since that carjacking in mid-November. That 11-year-old appeared in Cook County Juvenile Court on Thursday and was placed on electronic monitoring until his next court date next month.
"The kid stopped and looked at me, and my daughter looked at me, and I said, Oh God,'" the 57-year-old victim told us. "Within 20 seconds, a kid walked up and pulled a gun out on us."
More than two months have passed since the woman and her adult daughter were carjacked and robbed at gunpoint in their Mount Greenwood driveway. The mother asked us not to show her face for fear of retaliation.
"It's just a shame that they're attracted to this type of violence," she said.
The images of all three offenders are still clear in the woman's mind - the two who approached first, and then the 11-year-old - something her mind still can't reconcile.
"He actually skipped like a child, all the way up. Skipping, like young kids do. He's being a kid," the woman said. "I don't actually think he knew what he was doing, or getting involved with."
Her shock and fear have, for the most part, been replaced by sadness, but she says she has real concern about young people not being held accountable for their actions.
"I believe they're being taught that they can do whatever they want and there's not going to be a consequence," she said. "With the judges, the prosecutors, where are these parents, how are they raising these children?"
While the car and many of their belongings have been recovered, there's one thing the victim says she hasn't been able to regain.
"I'm just very cautious of anyone, anymore," she said. "I don't trust anybody."
The woman said she just began therapy for the trauma and is hopeful for the future.
During his appearance in Juvenile Court on Thursday, the 11-year-old was arraigned on both charges before being ordered placed on electronic monitoring. He is due back in court on Feb. 17.
Police had no updates on the other two offenders involved in the case.
WEB EXTRA: CBS 2 Carjacking Tracker
CBS Chicago Special Report From October: Why I Carjack; Teens Tell All