There are better ways to get home on a brisk, snowy evening than punching an off-duty cop and taking her car at gunpoint (Fox Chicago). The officer suffered only minor injuries and is expected to recover just fine.
But the 17-year-old boy charged with the crime really knows how to inspire sympathy, telling police: "I was walking home and I was very cold. I didn't want to walk home."
So he allegedly pulled a gun on a woman, grabbed her keys, jacked her upside the head and drove off in her car. Who wouldn't?
I doubt his Chicago criminal attorney will use that same defense in court against charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated battery to a police officer. The suspect, a minor, is in police custody.
The criminal complaint claims he led police on a chase through South Chicago's streets after taking the car, "going in and out of traffic," and then crashed into a parked car before being apprehended. While this particular incident resulted in injuries to an officer, it could have been far worse.
Carjacking is a serious crime that often leads to someone getting shot or young children being separated from their parents. A 6-month-old Chicago boy was inside a recently carjacked pickup (AP, via Tribune) but was found unharmed in the abandoned vehicle.
Ninety-three percent of carjackings took place in urban or suburban areas and a weapon was used in 74 percent of all carjackings between 1993 and 2002, with firearms making up 45 percent, according to a study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
There are ways to limit one's odds of being carjacked (see links below), so be safe out there.
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How to Prevent Being Carjacked (Mr. Traffic)
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Preventing Carjacking/Theft (Car and Driver)
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