The Chicagoland area is currently seeing a significant increase in carjackings, including Elmhurst and the Western Suburbs. Elmhurst Police are asking residents to be mindful of their surroundings at all times and report any suspicious activity by calling 911.
The individuals have reportedly been traveling to residential neighborhoods and retail areas where they watch for residents to enter or exit their car. They then confront the driver with force or while armed to take the victim’s vehicle. The stolen vehicle is then used to commit other crimes.
Our visible patrols in residential neighborhoods and the business district have increased. We have successfully identified threats to our community and have chased offenders out of town on several occasions. A recent example occurred when patrol officers observed a stolen vehicle that was just taken during an aggravated vehicular hijacking in a neighboring community. Our officer observed the stolen vehicle pull up to an occupied vehicle in a business parking lot. Our officer intervened by quickly approaching the stolen vehicle and immediately, the driver of the stolen vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed out of the area. Our officer attempted to apprehend the vehicle and occupants, however the vehicle continued at a high rate of speed and a vehicle pursuit was terminated as we didn’t want to risk harm to any innocent civilians.
In addition to increasing our patrols, we continue to work with our neighboring communities, DuPage County and the City of Chicago on this issue. We also rely on our use of technology to identify stolen vehicles and to prevent these crimes in our community.
This notification is not intended to unnecessarily alarm, but serves as a reminder that we are not immune to this type of crime. We are asking the community remain highly aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity by immediately calling 911.