The woman was pulling out of a parking lot in the 1100-block of West Wrightwood Avenue at about 9:10 p.m. when police said five male suspects got out of a black SUV and forced her out at gunpoint.
"All of a sudden I started hearing screaming coming from down Racine and at first I thought it was a neighbor just getting a bit rowdy, but as it got closer, you could definitely her a lot of fear," said one resident who heard the carjacking unfold and asked to remain anonymous. "As she got closer you could really hear that she was screaming for her life. Like she was very terrified in that moment."
Police said some of the carjackers fled in the victim's 2023 Chevy Malibu. Blurry surveillance video shows the suspects getting out of the stolen car and speeding away in another car waiting nearby.
The unoccupied car was found in the area of Southport Avenue and Diversey Parkway. Police were on the scene dusting the vehicle for fingerprints.
"It's obviously incredibly unfortunate," Walter Stadler, who lives nearby said. "I mean, we consider this to be a safe neighborhood. We walk our dog, we walk here all the time and to have this happen literally right outside your house in this neighborhood is frightening at one point and very unfortunate. A comment on what is happening right now."
Police said the woman was not injured. No one is in custody and Area Three detectives are investigating.
"I mean, I'm not much older than that so I live around the corner so it's really frightening to hear," neighbor Lauren Devine said. "It's definitely changed our life. My husband doesn't want me to take the dog out when it's not light out. I have a garage so I won't be parking my car on the street. "
"It is terrifying," neighbor Carolyn Lynch said. "That's why people, everyone I know, is moving out of the city. I mean the crime is ridiculous. I won't even go out at night."
From Monday night into Tuesday morning, there have been a rash of armed carjackings across the city, but police have not linked them together.
One of the incidents happened early Monday morning when a 59-year-old man was carjacked at gunpoint at a White Castle drive-thru in the Edgewater neighborhood.
Bob D'Andrea lives near the carjacking in Lincoln Park. He said it's a shame that it's happening everywhere.
"We live in the North Side," D'Andrea said. "We historically have felt insulated from that, but you're not insulated anymore. It happens everywhere. I think we do need more police presence. Not just here but everywhere."
Forty-Third Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen said in a statement, "Last night, a carjacking took place in our community. The 19th District Police and Area 3 Detectives are working diligently to ensure the offenders are caught and held accountable to justice. Our office is in constant communication with local police and will continue to update the community on any developments in this case. The 43rd Ward is a strong community, with a history of banding together to support victims of crime. I encourage affected neighbors to do so today.
"This incident is another unfortunate reminder of the work we need done to make our city and community the best place to work, live, and raise a family. I encourage Mayor Lightfoot, Mayor-elect Johnson, and the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability to focus on a strategy of community policing, specifically as the search continues for the next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. One thing is clear: when police are a consistent presence in neighborhoods and on local streets that they know well, we are better structured to make sure that these incidents occur less."
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