Woman Carjacked In Broad Daylight In Bronzeville; Police Issue Alert About Pattern
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was carjacked in broad daylight Tuesday afternoon in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
At 1:30 p.m., the 45-year-old woman was sitting in a vehicle parked on the street in the 4800 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive when someone came up, took out a gun, and demanded the car.
The suspect also took the victim's property before driving off in her car, police said.
Police late Tuesday released a community alert about a pattern of carjackings in the Bronzeville area. In each incident, one to four men came up to women sitting in their vehicles or standing just outside of them, and demanded the victims' cars before driving off in them. Two of the incidents involved guns.
In addition to the incident Tuesday on King Drive, other incidents happened at the following times and locations:
• At 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, in the 4300 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive;
• At 9:10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, on the 4100 block of South Vincennes Avenue;
• At 2:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, in the 400 block of East 48th Place;
• At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, in the 4700 block of South Woodlawn Avenue.
Carjackings were also reported Tuesday in Lakeview and Logan Square.
Around 7 a.m. a 32-year-old woman was driving down an alley in the 3600 block of North Bosworth Avenue off Addison Street, when a sport-utility vehicle blocked the intersection. Police said a man got out of the SUV, held up a gun, and demanded the woman get out of her black Dodge Charger. The suspect then opened the driver's side door, striking the woman in her head and face.
The victim got out of her car and the suspect took off in her vehicle, heading west toward Ashland Avenue.
Before that, around 1 a.m., another car in Logan Square was stolen. Police said in that case, two men pulled up in a dark-colored Hyundai sedan in the 2600 block of North St. Louis Avenue, and walked up to the two victims -- a 22-year-old man who was driving and a 20-year-old woman who was a passenger. They pointed a gun at the driver and told both occupants to get out of their blue 2019 Honda hatchback.
The thieves took the victims' cell phones and other items before stealing the car and driving off.
A woman was also carjacked on Monday in the 2500 block of South King Drive, about three miles directly north of the latest incident.
If it feels like such things are happening a lot lately, it's because they are. A carjacking epidemic has been gripping Chicago for months, with a rash of incidents in both the city and suburbs this past weekend.
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