Police Investigate 3 Armed Carjackings On Northwest Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police were warning drivers on the Northwest Side Monday about a string of three carjackings that struck three different neighborhoods within about 90 minutes of each other this past weekend.
As CBS 2's Vi Nguyen reported, police on Monday were still investigating whether the same group of men may be responsible for all three of the crimes on Sunday morning.
One victim told police he was sitting in his car when five men confronted him and ordered him out at gunpoint. Neighbors are understandably worried.
Heidi Lisby calls the Avondale neighborhood home, and often explores it with her dog, Honey.
Lisby has lived in the neighborhood for many years and knows it's not perfect. She said someone even broke into her husband's car at least twice in the last couple of months.
"He woke up this morning, goes to work, and his window's broken into," she said. "So his car was literally just everything strewn about, looking for whatever they could take."
Already concerned about the car break-ins, Lisby now has another threat on her hands – a carjacking in the neighborhood.
It was around 6 a.m. Sunday in the 2900 block of North Talman Avenue, near George Street, when police say a 57-year-old man was carjacked and beaten by five men with guns.
The man had to go to the hospital.
Less than an hour later at 6:50 a.m., police got a similar call in the 5700 block of North Christiana Avenue near Hollywood Avenue.
That time, a 45-year-old man told police he was driving when he noticed a car going really fast behind him, so he pulled over to let it pass. Instead, he said, two men got out and one of them hit him in the head with a gun and stole his car.
Then, around 7:35 a.m., there was a similar modus operandi in the Old Irving Park neighborhood, in the 3900 block of North Keeler near Byron Street.
The 33-year-old victim in that case said he was pulled over on the side of the road when three men demanded his keys and drove off with his car.
"I mean, it's frustrating. What can we do. I mean, we can't be, you know, out there 24/7, you know what I mean. It's scary," Lisby said. "You don't know if they have a gun, or if they're drug infused of whatever, you know? But I feel like it could happen anywhere."
Police remind people to be aware of their surroundings, park in well-lit areas if possible, and try to remain calm and comply if confronted.
Late Monday, police only had a vague description of the suspects.
Anyone with information on the robberies should call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.