Group Of Men Carjack Woman In Noble Square; Assailants Fire At Victim, Point Gun At Good Samaritan
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An assailant fired shots Monday afternoon while carjacking a woman in Noble Square, police said.
A man spotted it all happening and started making noise, and then the assailants pointed the gun at him too. That Good Samaritan told CBS 2's Charlie De Mar what happened next.
At 3:35 p.m., the 30-year-old woman was walking away from her 2020 gray Kia Sportage on Augusta Boulevard near Greenview Avenue when five suspects rushed her, took out a gun, and demanded the keys.
The victim threw her keys on the ground while one of the assailants fired shots, but did not strike the woman.
Eric Ravenstein is the woman's neighbor. He was shoveling snow when the carjackers swarmed.
"It was an animal instinct to just start banging on the fence," Ravenstein said.
So he took the shovel and started to bang the fence in a desperate attempt to distract the carjackers.
"When I started banging the fence, they pointed the gun at me," Ravenstein said. "And at that point, I'm not even sure what I did. I think I just laid down flat."
Police said as the group demanded the car, the victim tossed her keys down a gangway.
"She threw her keys down the gangway to deter them, and they pulled a gun on her and fired," Ravenstein said. "It's unbelievable that they fired; and that she's OK. It was just 10 feet away from her."
On the same street blocks away, and an hour and a half earlier, a man named Andrew was also carjacked as he jumped a friend's car battery.
"I look up and I see my car down the street," he said.
Surveillance video shows a getaway car leading the way, and Andrew's stolen black BMW right behind - the trunk still open.
"The jumper cables were attached to the battery, so as they drove away, it pulled off the jumper cables," Andrew said.
It was unclear late Monday if the two carjackings and the gunfire were connected, but a violent in Chicago trend continues.
Nobody was injured in the incidents and no arrests had been made late Monday.
