A man standing beside his own vehicle on West Gilman Street, phone in hand as he tried to pay off a parking ticket, suddenly found himself facing a gun Tuesday evening. The suspect demanded his phone and his keys, then took off with his car, leaving Madison police searching the area for a vehicle that, as of the initial report, had not turned up.
Gunman Strikes While Victim Pays a Parking Fine
Police say the victim was standing next to his vehicle in the 100 block of West Gilman Street, attempting to pay a parking ticket on his phone, when a person approached him and displayed a handgun, according to WMTV. The suspect then demanded the victim's phone and keys before fleeing with the car. The timing of the incident is not entirely settled: WMTV reported it happened after 5:45 p.m., while Channel 3000 put the victim at the scene around 5 p.m.
No one was injured during the robbery, the station's report noted. The victim's phone was later found on a sidewalk on Langdon Street, a discovery that gave officers a lead as they canvassed the surrounding downtown blocks. Despite that search, the stolen car itself could not be located at the time of the report, and police entered the vehicle into the appropriate law enforcement databases so it can be flagged if spotted.
Investigation Remains Open
As reported by WKOW, Madison police are investigating the armed carjacking near downtown as an active case. No suspect description, arrest or charges have been announced in connection with the incident, and the circumstances that led the gunman to target this particular driver remain unclear.
The West Gilman Street robbery follows other armed carjackings reported in Madison in recent years, including a January 2024 case on Parkwood Lane in which WKOW reported that four masked men armed with handguns took a victim's car. That earlier case does not appear connected to Tuesday's robbery, but it underscores that armed vehicle thefts have periodically struck different corners of the city.
