Baltimore-area carjackings have Marylanders worried about shopping during the holiday season
HANOVER -- Carjackings continue to plague the entire Greater Baltimore region, with Anne Arundel County Police investigating one that happened on Black Friday.
Police say a woman was carjacked by two men with guns at the Costco near Arundel Mills mall around 9 a.m. on Friday. She was approached as she got out of her blue Land Rover Range Rover and handed over her keys when the suspects demanded that she give them her vehicle.
One of the suspects drove off in her car while the other drove off in a silver Honda Civic.
Tara Pocius, who's in the area visiting from Miami, said she feels bad for the victim.
"My heart goes out to [her]," Pocius said. "I pray that it just gets better for her."
Numerous reports of carjackings have some people, like Jeanina Gabbard, exercising more caution. She wasn't surprised to hear about the one that happened on Black Friday. She told WJZ she'd heard of them happening in the area of Arundel Mills before.
"Maybe it was this time, probably last year, there was another carjacking over here," she said.
Gabbard said she doesn't leave her home at night anymore after hearing about all of these carjackings.
"Especially, since this is happening so close to home, you really don't wanna go out," she said. "Now, it's the holiday time. How are we supposed to shop?"
Like other law enforcement agencies, Anne Arundel County Police is reporting an increase in carjackings compared to last year.
Cpl. Taylor Petty said they're being more alert, especially for holiday shoppers.
"We have increased patrol officers in our shopping centers during holiday seasons, to hopefully just keep everybody safe and to keep away any criminal activity," Petty said.
Two carjackings in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood have put people on edge. In one of them, a child was in a carjacked vehicle. In the other, two people got hurt and had to go to the hospital.
As she continues to hear about these crimes, it'll be hard for Gabbard to feel any kind of security when she's out.
"We can watch our surroundings, but then again, who's lurking around the corner," she said.
Being vigilant of one's surroundings is the best thing a person can do, Petty said.
Anyone who knows anything about the Black Friday carjacking can contact police at 410-222-6155 or call the Anne Arundel County Police Tip Line at 410-222-4700.
