Two Men Shot In Gold Coast Amid Series Of North Side Carjackings
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man suspected of shooting his brother in the Austin neighborhood was in custody Friday morning, after going on a string of carjackings, and shooting two people who refused to give up their cars in the Gold Coast neighborhood.
Police said a man suspected of shooting his 23-year-old brother in an apartment on the 5500 block of West Adams Street around 4 p.m. later stole a red Jeep Patriot a few blocks away.
The suspect then drove to the West Town neighborhood, where he stole a silver Jaguar near Milwaukee and Thomas around 5:15 p.m. About 10 minutes later, he crashed into several parked cars at Halsted and Chicago. He kept going, and hit several more parked cars near Chicago and Larrabee before ditching the Jaguar around 5:30 p.m., police said.
He then carjacked an undercover Chicago police officer driving a black Ford Escape less than a block away, and drove to the Gold Coast, where he abandoned the vehicle near State and Oak, where he tried to steal a Nissan.
When the driver of that car refused to give up the vehicle, the suspect shot the 37-year-old man in the shoulder and ran away.
Then the carjacker stole a Jeep Patriot, and drove to Schiller and Inner Lake Shore Drive, where he ditched the Jeep and tried to steal another vehicle.
When that driver didn't give up his Mercedes, the robber shot him, grazing his shoulder. Michele Schara knows the victim, an 84-year-old man.
"I feel really terrible. Our neighbor had been shot. They tried to take his car right in front of our building," she said.
After shooting the second victim, the carjacker then ran into a condominium building on Lake Shore Drive.
"The offender was caught within minutes, because of the extra resources we have down in the Loop and the aggressive reaction and response by the 18th District. The officers here that placed this guy in custody did an outstanding job. Nobody else got hurt," Area Central Deputy Chief Kevin Ryan said.
Pat Tomlinson said she had a dinner appointment Thursday night, but feels fortunate she canceled at the last minute, because she could have come face-to-face with the carjacker.
"I was going to take a cab at 5:30, and I think that's around the same time that it happened," she said.
The two people who were shot were expected to recover. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
The suspect was in custody at Area Central headquarters. As of Friday morning, charges had not yet been filed.