A 13-year-old boy was charged with a felony carjacking crime in November when he allegedly stole a vehicle at gunpoint from a man in Chicago, police said Thursday.
The teenager, whose name was not released because he is a young person, was arrested Wednesday morning by Chicago Police Department (CPD’s) Vehicular Hijacking Task Force and charged with one felony of heavy hijacking of vehicles with a firearm, police said.
Investigators linked the teen to a carjacking on Nov. 21, 2020, when he “forcibly took a vehicle” from a 33-year-old man in the Wentworth area of Windy City, officials said.
Chief Superintendent of Police David Brown said the boy was 13 years old “the day before he put a gun to the victim’s head.”
CHICAGO CARJACKINGS MORE THAN DOUBLE IN JANUARY, 180% MORE THAN LAST YEAR; THE POLICE SAYS MOST OF THE VIOLATIONS ARE TEENAGERS
He must appear before the juvenile court on Thursday.
The arrest comes just weeks after CPD announced the creation of the task force made up of 40 police officers and four sergeants assigned to the police’s five detective offices, the department said.
4 TEENAGERS CHARGED IN RANGE OF CHICAGO CARJACKINGS AS CITY GRAPES WITH ALARMING SPIKE
Carjackings are up about 135% in 2020 from the year before. Chicago saw over 180% more carjackings in January than the same month last year. CPD registered 218 carjackings in January – a staggering spike from 77 reported at the same time last year, authorities previously told Fox News.
Officials said CPD arrest records show that carjackers are usually between the ages of 15 and 20, but arrest reports show they are sometimes even younger.
“We are letting 12-year-olds commit these acts now,” Detectives Chief Brendan Deenihan said at a January 21 press conference on the topic. “And as a city we have to do something to stop these actions.”
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The police carjacking task force goes beyond manpower and includes public programs and collaboration with community groups and local, state and federal partners.
“This idea of our agents confronting a 13- and 12-year-old with a gun and the most unimaginable tragedy to happen is one of our concerns, but our primary concern, I want to make this clear, is for the victim,” said Brown said. “And so, whether you are young or old, these consequences must be significant to discourage this behavior.”