Evanston police say they are beefing up patrols after two carjackings occurred roughly three hours apart Thursday night and Friday morning.
The city has been experiencing an increase in car thefts lately, but the latest incidents involving guns “up the seriousness of the crime,” Commander Joseph Dugan said.
In the first incident, a 39-year-old Evanston woman was parked in front of her residence in the 1200 block of Fowler Avenue when two unknown men approached her black Mazda CX-9 on foot, Dugan said.
The first man pointed what appeared to be a black revolver and told her to get out of the car, Dugan said. The woman was able to collect her phone, cigarettes and driver’s license, before exiting the vehicle, leaving her wallet, he said.
The two men then fled in the vehicle while the victim was not injured, Dugan said.
After midnight, officers responded to another carjacking in the 1700 block of Washington Street where a 36-year-old Evanston woman was robbed of her 2008 Acura at gunpoint, Dugan said.
Patrol officers responding to the area observed both the Mazda from the earlier incident and the Acura following each other near Barton Avenue and Harvard Terrace, Dugan said.
Both vehicles fled eastbound on Harvard Terrace, he said. At Ridge Avenue, the Mazda continued eastbound and the Acura went southbound on Ridge, Dugan said.
As officers pursued both vehicles, the Mazda crashed into a security gate at a residence in the 200 block of Custer Avenue and the occupant fled, he said.
The Acura was recovered unoccupied several minutes later in the 1500 block of West Jonquil Terrace, Dugan said.
Officers are allowed to pursue vehicles for a forcible felony, which was considered to be the case in the car hijackings, Dugan said.
A loaded .38 caliber revolver was recovered from the Mazda, he said.
Evanston police with assistance from Chicago and Skokie set up perimeters and searched for the suspects but were unable to locate them, he said. Both vehicles were towed to the Evanston police station for processing, he said.
In light of the incidents, Dugan said police are calling on the public to call the department at 847-866-5000 if they see anything suspicious in their neighborhoods.
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