Teen Carjacking Suspect Leads Police On Wild Chase In Lincoln Park
CHICAGO (CBS) – A 16-year-old former Willowbrook High School student led police on a roof-hopping chase Thursday after he allegedly carjacked a woman at gunpoint.
It was in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood where police finally nabbed the young suspect in the upscale 1100 block of West Altgeld, CBS 2's Mike Parker reports.
At 10:15 a.m., the carjacking victim was driving west in the 1500 block of West Montana. When she stopped at Greenview, a young man approached.
"He stuck a gun into the car," she told Parker. "The gun was in my face. Then he said, 'Give me your money. Give me everything you've got.'"
The robber drove off in the red Pontiac Sunfire and headed north of Greenview. But a Good Samaritan followed closely, leaning on his horn. A few blocks away, the suspect pulled into a dead-end alley, abandoned the car and fled on foot.
A special Chicago police tactical unit arrived in the neighborhood. Witnesses pointed the police in the right direction, and a chase ensued. The fleeing suspect reportedly leaped from one garage roof to another like some daylight cat burglar.
"It was just like crazy -- cops running everywhere, cars going crazy," witness Elena Mora said.
Police found the suspect in the crawl space beneath an outdoor patio.
"We were able to place him into custody and also the weapon was discovered a short distance away," Officer Jerry Zanders of the 19th District Robbery Team said.
The suspect is 16 and has not been identified because of his age. The teenager's uncle tells CBS 2 his nephew was a former student at Willowbrook High School and plays on the school's basketball team. He is transferring to a high school in Chicago, a Willowbrook school official said.
The carjacking victim says she was rattled by the experience.
"You expect it at 2 in the morning. You don't expect it at 10 in the morning," she said.
