WEST LOOP — An armed carjacking in a busy section of the West Loop has neighbors on edge and police searching for the robber.
On Sept. 5, a 38-year-old man was in the 1100 block of West Hubbard Street at 8:18 p.m. when a man walked up to him and pointed a handgun before demanding the man's car and other property, police said.
The robber got into the man's car and fled the scene, police said. No one is in custody.
Neighbors said the carjacking happened in the alley between Hubbard Street and Grand Avenue, near May Street.
The robber also took the man's cell phone and wallet, as well as his car, said Eric Hausman, president of a nearby condo association who was told about the robbery from concerned neighbors.
According to Hausman, the robber — who neighbors believe was a young teenager — got out of a car that held three others. Both cars sped away and the robber sideswiped a parked car in the process, Hausman said.
It happened across the street from A & A Automobile Service, 448 N. May St., but an employee there said it was caught on security cameras.
"It's kind of weird," said the employee who asked not to be identified. "I see a lot over here. You'll see a little [criminal] activity on these side streets."
The armed robbery — in a busy area on a holiday evening — has neighbors worried and upset, Hausman said.
"I was, frankly, shocked," he said. "We wouldn't think twice about going out there at 8 p.m."
Criminals have been going into wealthy neighborhoods and commercial districts to conduct armed robberies this year, police said. Wicker Park's entertainment district has seen at least 11 armed robberies this year and a number of carjackings, up significantly from years past.
Gang members have stolen as many as 100 luxury cars from wealthy Chicago suburbs this year, according to media reports.
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