'I'm Afraid': Man Carjacked Twice In Recent Weeks Left Shaken After Being Held At Gunpoint
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Violent carjackings around the Twin Cities have left people on edge. The Minneapolis Police Department say there's an average of one carjacking a day.
One man, unfortunate enough to be carjacked twice, shared his experience of being held at gunpoint. Craig Boettcher was never the type to fear anything, but that changed about a week ago when he visited a friend near north Minneapolis.
"When I came out of the house, two guys out of nowhere came with guns pointed at my gut," Boettcher said.
Boettcher says the guys threatened him to hand over his keys. At that moment, Boettcher thought his life was over.
"I had cancer a few years ago and I thought about that, I thought I worked so hard to stay alive, and now I'm going to be shot," he said.
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Boettcher says this is the second time he's been carjacked within three months. So far, police have not found the cars or the carjackers.
"I had a red shovel in there that I've had for 30 years, and I loved that shovel so much. It wasn't worth anything, but to me it meant a lot," Boettcher said.
St. Paul police say through Oct. 6, there's been 80 carjackings. Last year, through Nov. 1 there were 62.
In Minneapolis, so far there's been 457 carjackings this year, 16 of them happened this past weekend alone. In 2020, Minneapolis police reported 405 carjackings, a 300% increase from 2019.
The fear of becoming a victim is felt community-wide.
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"You always have to be on guard and that's a sad world we live in," said Danielle Sons, a Chaska resident.
"I'll walk my dog out at night and won't go as long at night, because I'm a little girl with a little dog so I try to keep my walk short and sweet," said Rachel Wright of Minneapolis.
As for Boettcher, it's issues with trust that he hopes to overcome.
"I thought for a stupid car, people are going to kill you," Boettcher said. "I look at everybody thinking are they going to shoot me? Am I gonna make it to my car?"
Minneapolis police say they arrested one juvenile and identified two others involved in a carjacking last Saturday.