After two carjackings right downtown within days, alderman says police action is needed now
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was carjacked in the middle of the Loop while stopped at an intersection early Friday morning – in the second carjacking downtown in the past few days.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, these carjackings are concerning for many reasons – and they are part of an overall rise in crime in the Loop.
For all of last year, we tracked 17 carjackings total in the Loop Community Area – which includes the Loop itself and part of the South Loop down to Roosevelt Road. This year, there have already been eight with the two this week – and it is only April.
WEB EXTRA: Tracking Chicago's Carjackings
In this latest incident just after 1 a.m. Friday, police said a 53-year-old woman was driving down State Street and was stopped on a red light at Washington Street when a man opened her car door and forced her out.
She told Chicago Police the man implied he had a gun.
This follows another carjacking about a block away in the 100 block of North Dearborn Street Tuesday night. In that incident, a 26-year-old pregnant woman was walking to her car just before 10 p.m. when two people came up to her demanding her keys.
In that first incident, Chicago Police later arrested two juveniles - recovering her car and a fully loaded handgun. But as of Friday, police still had not announced charges - and would not say whether the teens were still in custody or had been released.
Thankfully, both women were doing OK Friday. But there has been no update in either case.
Molina is told both carjackings are still under investigation.
Enter Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), who told us these carjackings downtown are concerning for more the one reason. He said the fact the 53-year-old woman was targeted while in an intersection - the first time we've seen something like it in the Loop - is an issue that needs to be addressed.
"To just be minding your own business driving in traffic -- and all of sudden, you hear a pounding on your window and you turn and see a gun in your face?" Hopkins said "That's just a new twist in the carjacking experience that we're seeing more of lately, and it's a real cause for concern."
Hopkins said the crime stats tell a story, but so do the people who live and travel through the city. He also took issue with claims that crime is down. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said this week that so far, certain violent crimes are down year-to-year.
"The important thing is, how do people feel? Does anyone feel safer today than they did five years ago? I sure don't, and I don't know anyone who does," Hopkins said. "So don't give me nonsense that crime is down. We have a real problem in our society. We have a real problem in our city and we're not doing enough to solve it. That's the facts."
Hopkins said there are plans for more officers to be stationed downtown this summer.
"We have plans for the summer. We are using increased bike patrols," Hopkins said. "The violence reduction initiative where we have fixed posts in the downtown area – that's somewhat helpful, but it needs to be part of larger core."
Hopkins also said he and others are calling for more - and now.
"We need more police," he said. "We need more police downtown, and we need greater police response to this disturbing trend of carjackings in the Loop."
Police Supt. David Brown said late Friday that while carjackings have been down most of the year, they have been back on the rise in recent weeks.
Brown emphasized that juvenile offenders are driving the carjacking epidemic – with officers having arrested some juvenile suspects who have been involved in multiple carjackings.
He added that the Juvenile Court system is having a difficult time.
"No one has the appetite in the juvenile court system to incarcerate our young people, but this is a very dangerous, serious crime," Brown said.
Brown said carjackers must be held accountable regardless of their age, and called for attention toward young people's lives and social services.
He said an 11-year-old had been arrested as a prolific carjacker – and it turned out the youngster had been out of school for two years. With help from police and the Chicago Public Schools, the 11-year-old's life has been turned around – they haven't missed a day of school and they are now on the honor roll, Brown said.