{"id":64045,"date":"2021-01-20T14:47:14","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T20:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=64045"},"modified":"2021-01-20T14:47:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T20:47:14","slug":"64045","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=64045","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

City\u2019s Carjacking Surge Shows No Sign Of Slowing, So Residents Are Buying Guns<\/a><\/p>\n

HYDE PARK \u2014 Carjackings have been on the rise in Chicago for more than a year. After a 135 percent jump in 2020, the trend is continuing with 61 carjackings reported in the first 10 days of 2021.<\/p>\n

As city officials and police scramble to address the issue with meetings, City Council hearings and community alerts, some Chicagoans are taking matters into their own hands against the advice of law enforcement: They\u2019re applying for concealed carry permits.<\/p>\n

Kelly Milan, a Northwestern graduate student, was carjacked Friday morning in Hyde Park in front of William H. Ray Elementary School.<\/p>\n

About 8 a.m., the budding journalist drove her 2014 Jeep Cherokee to the school, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave., to interview students for the Hyde Park Herald.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got out of my car and locked my car and was in the middle of the street when I saw a running car in the middle of the street,\u201d Milan said. \u201cImmediately, I thought something bad was going to happen. Then, two guys got out of the car. One guy made eye contact with me and started running towards me. I just started saying \u2019No, no, no, no, no\u2019 and I winced because he was running towards me and I thought he was going to take me down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I started saying, \u2018Please don\u2019t hurt me, please don\u2019t hurt me.\u2019 He said, \u2018Where are your keys?\u2019 and forcibly went through all my pockets. He grabbed my keys and my phone. The other guy was just leaning by the car, watching it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was begging for my life. It was really, really terrifying. You never think you\u2019re going to be a victim of a carjacking, let alone one outside an elementary school at 8 a.m., but here we are and it\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milan\u2019s story is not unique. Carjackings shot up 135 percent in 2020, with 1,415 reported that year compared to 603 in 2019, according to the Chicago Police Department. So far in 2021, carjackings are on a pace to break last year\u2019s record with 61 happening over the first 10 days of the year, up from 22 during the same period in 2020.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since Jan. 10, there have been at least two community alerts issued for police districts in vastly different parts of the city. From Jan. 14 to Jan. 19 in the 2nd Police District at 51st and Wentworth in Bronzeville, there were five carjackings. In the 14th Police District, at 2150 N. California Ave. in Logan Square, there were also five, taking place between Jan. 9 and Jan. 17.<\/p>\n

The carjacking of Milan was typical of the brazen ways some culprits have staged their crimes \u2014 without regard for their surroundings, on a block with many homes and right in front of an elementary school.<\/p>\n

Milan estimated the ages of her carjackers as 16-20 and said one of the attackers drove off with her car while the other one got back in the car that they rode up in, driven by a third boy or man. The carjacker also took her phone and wallet.<\/p>\n

Retired probation officer Javondlynn Dunagan owns JMD Defense, a self-defense company in Beverly that offers gun safety and conceal carry classes. She said her business has boomed as South Side residents increasingly feel ignored by the police and reporters.<\/p>\n

Dunagan said carjackings \u2014 combined with the riot at the Capitol and unrest this summer \u2014 have resulted in large numbers of residents signing up for concealed carry classes. Along with getting a Firearm Owner\u2019s Identification Car from the Illinois State Police to own a gun, gun owners who wish to get concealed carry privileges must complete a 16-hour class.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a feeling that [the police] can\u2019t handle it and on the South Side, they are feeling neglected,\u201d Dunagan said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We Need Both A Long-Term And Short-Term Solution\u2019
\nThe feeling of fear isn\u2019t exclusive to the South Side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had customers who were victims of carjackings then suddenly conceal carry became their No. 1 priority because they never want to experience that again, and if they do, they want to have a chance,\u201d said the owner of Illinois Protect and Conceal at 6938 W. Higgins Road, who said he his known as IPAC Instructor Paul.<\/p>\n

FOID applications in 2020 boomed in Illinois, with 341,153 applications. For concealed carry permits, 93,893 applications were received.<\/p>\n

The day after Milan was carjacked in Hyde Park, Chicagoan Erin Groble was the victim of a carjacking in a Wicker Park parking lot at 1:30 p.m. Groble, who was visiting a friend, was getting in her boyfriend\u2019s car near Division Street and Ashland Avenue when another car pulled up with three boys or men inside. Two got out the car and rushed toward her, she said.<\/p>\n

Sam Royko, Groble\u2019s boyfriend, said the thieves stole Groble\u2019s purse, phone and some packages that were in the car \u2014 along with his 2016 Audi GTS.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got out and grabbed her door and started yelling at her and pulled her out of the car,\u201d Royko said.<\/p>\n

Groble\u2019s friend got the license plate of the car that pulled up, but police discovered that car had also been stolen.<\/p>\n

Police found Groble\u2019s purse later that day in yet another stolen car and found Royko\u2019s car, which had body damage to it, on Monday.<\/p>\n

Both carjackings, a day apart, seemed to show how emboldened the thieves have become and how they are happening on sleepy streets and busy thoroughfares, from early morning to late at night, from Hegewisch to Rogers Park and Streeterville to Portage Park.<\/p>\n

Along with the time and locations, the methods seem to vary. Most carjackers seem to work in teams of two or three. Some pull up in another car and lightly hit the victim\u2019s car to get them to exit before stealing their vehicle. Some run up when a victim is parked or near their car and force them to turn over their keys. Some target ride-hail drivers. Some have a gun. Most take the victim\u2019s cellphones and other items along with their car. And many of the offenders are young teenagers and are charged as juveniles if caught.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know when they commit these crimes they are going to go to jail for a moment and then get right back out \u2026 . It\u2019s a revolving door,\u201d Dunagan said.<\/p>\n

Residents received emails from aldermen across the city about the carjacking sprees this week. Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said council members will discuss the issue Friday at a City Council Public Safety Committee hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of things going on. I know the pandemic is part of it, you can\u2019t say that it isn\u2019t,\u201d Ervin said. \u201cBut there are also some challenges with the juveniles being released so quickly. There are a myriad of issues that went into creating what we have, and there is no one cure or specific answer. It\u2019s going to take a larger approach to help solve this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Royko and Groble said they talked to neighbors, many of whom are afraid to drive at this point. He plans to attend the City Council hearing Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need both a long term and short-term solution,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an opportunity for the aldermen and the mayor to come together to try and think of what we can do to fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ald. Brian Hopkins represents the 2nd Ward where Groble was carjacked. On Tuesday, he issued a vehicular hijacking alert in his newsletter to constituents, pledging to add additional cameras and plate readers in his ward that can aid in tracking stolen cars and tracking criminal suspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many of you, I am shocked by this recent surge in vehicular hijackings,\u201d Hopkins wrote. \u201cResidents have reached out to my office in concern over these incidents, which have been widespread and occurring in many of the bordering wards and police districts. I have personally talked with some of the victims, and I genuinely understand how traumatizing these crimes can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Friday hearing is just the latest city effort to address the issue. In December, 1,400 residents of two South Side wards signed a petition calling on Alds. Greg Mitchell (7th) and Michelle Harris (8th) city leaders to do something about carjackings.<\/p>\n

Despite a meeting on the topic over Zoom, residents expressed frustration and exasperation on social media.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Good Guy\u2019 Does Not Always Win In A Gunfight
\nTo address the issue, the Police Department relaunched its Vehicular Hijacking Task Force in February. It had been on hiatus since 2018, said police spokesperson Maggie Huynh.<\/p>\n

Additionally, in July, the U.S. Department of Justice launched Operation Legend, a coordinated effort in which federal agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime.<\/p>\n

It was that effort that led to federal carjacking and firearm charges against Elias Quinones-Figueroa after he allegedly stole an SUV at gunpoint and hit a cyclist as he sped away in West Town in May. The carjacking charge is punishable by up to 25 years in federal prison, while the gun charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to the carjacking sentence.<\/p>\n

Armed citizens are not the answer to the crisis, Ervin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been robbed before and if I had a gun on me at the time, it would have done me no good and may have gotten me killed,\u201d Ervin said.<\/p>\n

Research shows carrying a gun may actually increase a victim\u2019s risk of injury and people successfully defend themselves with guns in less than 1 percent of crimes.<\/p>\n

Some gun proponents point to the story of the owner of a BMW who shot and killed a would-be carjacker on Ida B. Wells Drive.<\/p>\n

However, those types of stories are rare, and they do not mention the possible psychological hurdles the BMW owner faced afterwards.<\/p>\n

More common are stories of people who lost gunfights, such as retired firefighter Dwain Williams, who was killed in a carjacking Dec. 3. Williams had a gun, but it did not save him. He was shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire with four carjackers who stole his car as he was leaving a Morgan Park popcorn shop.<\/p>\n

In Jefferson Park, Instructor Paul said he tries to remind his students it\u2019s always better to give up the car and get away if you can.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a last-ditch effort,\u201d Paul said. \u201cImagine how mortifying it would be to shoot and kill another person. It would be something that no normal person wants to experience. And let\u2019s face it, there are very serious legal and financial ramifications that follow thereafter, including retaliation in some cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, a strong emphasis is put on, \u2018Get away if you\u2019re able.\u2019<\/p>\n

Milan said the fact she wasn\u2019t armed and stayed calm likely saved her last week, adding the only thing she\u2019d consider carrying in the future might be pepper spray, and even that wouldn\u2019t have helped her last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I did have pepper spray, I wouldn\u2019t have sprayed it because when you\u2019re in that situation you give up everything you own and you make sure you\u2019re safe. It happened in a matter of seconds and I don\u2019t think people realize how fast it happened,\u201d Milan said.<\/p>\n

Dunagan agreed and said the \u201cgood guy\u201d does not always win in a gunfight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach and talk about temperament a lot. We try to redirect people from thinking that they should come in here to get a gun and stop a carjacking,\u201d Dunagan said. \u201cJust like the firefighter. He shot maybe one of them, but they wanted his car and he pulled his firearm and unfortunately lost his life. You\u2019re not always going to win those gunfights.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City\u2019s Carjacking Surge Shows No Sign Of Slowing, So Residents Are Buying Guns HYDE PARK \u2014 Carjackings have been on the rise in Chicago for more than a year. After a 135 percent jump in 2020, the trend is continuing with 61 carjackings reported in the first 10 days of 2021. As city officials and … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,29,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rkba","category-safety","category-self-defense"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64046,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64045\/revisions\/64046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}