'They Are Brazen, They're Not Afraid': Minneapolis Woman Carjacked In Broad Daylight
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A Twin Cities carjacking victim is sharing her experience as a warning to others.
It was 3 p.m. on Oct. 23. Susie parked on Chowen Avenue South, near 50th Street. Soon after she got out of her SUV, she says another car pulled up out of nowhere.
"And four young men got out. One of them had his arms spread open wide and I think he said something, came at me, pushed me to the ground," said the victim Susie, who only wanted to use her first name.
She says the masked teens took her purse and bag, while kicking her on the ground. She still had her cell phone in her hand.
"They were hitting me and kicking me, saying 'give me your passcode, give me your passcode.' That's when I realize I need to give up my phone or I'm going to be killed potentially,'" Susie said.
Soon, neighbors started appearing on the residential street and the suspects took off in their car. Two came back on foot for her 2012 SUV.
"They jumped in my car since they had found my car keys in my purse," Susie said.
Susie carries pepper spray and had taken self defense, but said it didn't matter. She's bruised, sore, swollen and said she's looking for leaders to better protect people in Minneapolis.
"They've got to fully fund a fully staffed police force. Citizens who are paying taxes and sustaining this economy, we are not being protected," Susie said.
Carjackings are now so common, Minneapolis police created a new system to track them. That system started last month. Since then, police reported another 61 carjackings: nearly two per day.
Susie admits she's afraid but feels it's her duty to warn others.
"They are brazen, they're not afraid, they will act given the opportunity," Susie said.
Police said the stolen car matched the description of a vehicle spotted at other crimes committed over the weekend. And that fits a pattern they're seeing after a carjacking.
Police are trying to determine if this carjacking is connected to other recent ones in the city.