Chicago streets turned perilous for ride-share drivers after a disturbing spate of carjacks, including a shooting on the West Side and a brutal attack on the Northwest Side. According to the Chicago Tribune, a 51-year-old driver was critically injured after being shot in the chest when he resisted an attempted carjacking in the Austin neighborhood, the incident occurred around 10:10 p.m. while dropping off a customer.
The assailants, three males, demanded the driver's phone and his vehicle, however, the driver's courageous refusal led to his gunshot wound, and he was later taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition. "Sickening," said an Uber representative, as they expressed the company's readiness to assist law enforcement in the ongoing investigation of the incident. Meanwhile, on the Northwest Side, a 28-year-old man suffered a head injury when two armed assailants hijacked his car at a gas station before 1 a.m., striking him with a gun before making off with his Audi SUV.
The unfolding of the second incident was captured by gas station surveillance, showing the suspects entering the victim's SUV and the victim fleeing post-assault. As stated by NBC Chicago, the victim was later listed in good condition at Ascension Resurrection Hospital, but the assailants remain at large.
This marks a continuation of a worrisome trend targeting ride-share operators, with recent community alerts highlighting the increased risk of head injuries from gun-wielding carjackers, in a concerning escalation of city-wide vehicular crimes. Steps to address this challenge remain to be seen as detectives are left wading through pieces of evidence, piecing together the crimes, and hunting for the perpetrators who are currently evading capture.
