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'Someone trying to make a living': Another rideshare driver carjacked in Baltimore

Uber driver carjacked in Baltimore, latest in string of attacks targeting ride shares
Uber driver carjacked in Baltimore, latest in string of attacks targeting ride shares 02:23

BALTIMORE - Another Baltimore rideshare driver became victim of a violent carjacking early Monday.

Police say the Uber driver picked up four passengers in the 4900 block of Erdman Avenue in Northeast Baltimore and told them to drive to the 2300 block of Terra Firma Road in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, about nine miles away.

Three of the passengers got out, but the rideshare driver was forced to drive to the 2900 block of Southland Avenue, and was then told to get out of his car at gunpoint.

"How would you feel if one of your loved ones hopped in their car and somebody held them at gunpoint, and they took their car from them," said Frank, who lives in the Cherry Hill neighborhood. 

Police are investigating 39 rideshare carjackings since early November 02:35

It's the latest in a series of violent robberies of rideshare drivers.

There have been at least 40 rideshare carjackings since November in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

Rideshare drivers have also been targeted in other cities as well. 

"That's crazy. Someone trying to make a living and the first thing you think is, 'Oh, we're going to take his car,'" Frank said.

Last week, Baltimore Police Department told the City Council there have already been 28 carjackings this year.

When it comes to rideshares, police have warned passengers to match the driver with their picture in the app because criminals often steal the driver's phone as well as vehicle and continue to pick up passengers and rob them.

In Baltimore, many of the suspects are minors.

In 2022, suspects aged 10 to 17 committed 85 carjackings in Baltimore City. 

The Uber carjacking in Cherry Hill follows a violent weekend, including an incident in West Baltimore where a woman was shot while driving and crashed, injuring two children—a  3-year-old and a 2-month-old. 

"Homicides and shootings are both down 25 percent over last year. Gun arrests are up," Mayor Brandon Scott said Monday morning. "We're going to go out there and hunt these people down who do this. But we will not fall into these traps—every time somebody cowardly decides to make an individual act of shooting at somebody—that, 'Oh, it's the entire police department's fault or oh, it's Safe Streets' fault."

You can report tips through Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-Lockup, and you can remain anonymous.

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