Carjackings rise in Chicago as juveniles target high-end vehicles

Police and fire personnel are on the scene of a carjacking at 1:43 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, at two thousand two hundred one S. Wabash Ave. A man was shot and his BMW was taken. | Network Movie Productions

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Whether it’s a Bears broad receiver’s Maserati or the two thousand six BMW heisted in an incident that led to a man being shot early Tuesday, carjackings are making headlines around downtown Chicago and on the West and North sides.

And city crime statistics showcase their numbers have been on the rise: Vehicular hijackings in Chicago almost doubled inbetween two thousand fifteen and two thousand sixteen and are occurring with the same frequency this year.

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the uptick “appears to be a pattern inbetween Area Central and Area North involving juveniles and targeting higher-end vehicles.”

To combat the hijackings, he said, police have “added a specialized robbery mission team in these areas,” and, in latest weeks, a juvenile suspect has been identified.

“These carjackings are primarily crimes of chance,” Guglielmi said.

In 2012, four hundred eighty seven vehicular hijackings were reported across the city.

Over the next three years, that number fell to inbetween three hundred and 350.

Then, in 2016, the total shot up to 661, records display.

With two hundred seventy carjackings reported through early May, Chicago is keeping rhythm with last year. Of those incidents, one hundred fifty eight – or fifty eight percent — involved a weapon.

Bears broad receiver Kevin White with his Maserati. | Instagram photo

Records showcase that, inbetween two thousand twelve and 2016, weapons were used in fifty six to sixty four percent of all carjackings.

Early Tuesday, a carjacking in the South Loop led to a man being shot, according to police.

At 1:39 a.m., three masculines exited a Jeep Cherokee in the two thousand two hundred block of South Wabash and, while two of the suspects stole a gray two thousand six BMW, the third suspect attempted to rob a 27-year-old man walking down the street nearby, according to police.

The 27-year-old attempted to run away from the suspect, but was shot in the back, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Last week, the gf of Bears broad receiver Kevin White was carjacked as she was driving his Maserati in the four hundred block of North May in West Town.

Chicago Police issued a community alert after seven carjackings, all on April 28, were reported in several North Side neighborhoods. Ten carjacking-related community alerts have been issued so far this year.

The Harrison District on the West Side has — by a broad margin — seen the most carjackings this year of any of the police department’s twenty two districts, data demonstrate.

Through May 8, there were forty eight reported vehicular hijackings, thirty two of which involved a weapon.

The Grand Crossing District on the South Side and the Near West District each have seen twenty vehicular hijackings this year, records showcase.

Of the two hundred seventy carjackings this year, fourteen cases have ended in an arrest, records showcase.

Carjackings rise in Chicago as juveniles target high-end vehicles, Chicago Sun-Times

Carjackings rise in Chicago as juveniles target high-end vehicles

Police and fire personnel are on the scene of a carjacking at 1:43 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, at two thousand two hundred one S. Wabash Ave. A man was shot and his BMW was taken. | Network Movie Productions

Sign-Up for our News & Politics Newsletter Sign-Up

Whether it’s a Bears broad receiver’s Maserati or the two thousand six BMW heisted in an incident that led to a man being shot early Tuesday, carjackings are making headlines around downtown Chicago and on the West and North sides.

And city crime statistics demonstrate their numbers have been on the rise: Vehicular hijackings in Chicago almost doubled inbetween two thousand fifteen and two thousand sixteen and are occurring with the same frequency this year.

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the uptick “appears to be a pattern inbetween Area Central and Area North involving juveniles and targeting higher-end vehicles.”

To combat the hijackings, he said, police have “added a specialized robbery mission team in these areas,” and, in latest weeks, a juvenile suspect has been identified.

“These carjackings are primarily crimes of chance,” Guglielmi said.

In 2012, four hundred eighty seven vehicular hijackings were reported across the city.

Over the next three years, that number fell to inbetween three hundred and 350.

Then, in 2016, the total shot up to 661, records demonstrate.

With two hundred seventy carjackings reported through early May, Chicago is keeping rhythm with last year. Of those incidents, one hundred fifty eight – or fifty eight percent — involved a weapon.

Bears broad receiver Kevin White with his Maserati. | Instagram photo

Records showcase that, inbetween two thousand twelve and 2016, weapons were used in fifty six to sixty four percent of all carjackings.

Early Tuesday, a carjacking in the South Loop led to a man being shot, according to police.

At 1:39 a.m., three masculines exited a Jeep Cherokee in the two thousand two hundred block of South Wabash and, while two of the suspects stole a gray two thousand six BMW, the third suspect attempted to rob a 27-year-old man walking down the street nearby, according to police.

The 27-year-old attempted to run away from the suspect, but was shot in the back, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Last week, the gf of Bears broad receiver Kevin White was carjacked as she was driving his Maserati in the four hundred block of North May in West Town.

Chicago Police issued a community alert after seven carjackings, all on April 28, were reported in several North Side neighborhoods. Ten carjacking-related community alerts have been issued so far this year.

The Harrison District on the West Side has — by a broad margin — seen the most carjackings this year of any of the police department’s twenty two districts, data demonstrate.

Through May 8, there were forty eight reported vehicular hijackings, thirty two of which involved a weapon.

The Grand Crossing District on the South Side and the Near West District each have seen twenty vehicular hijackings this year, records display.

Of the two hundred seventy carjackings this year, fourteen cases have ended in an arrest, records display.

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