Man, 66, shot during attempted carjacking on Goose Island

A 66-year-old man was shot in his arm Wednesday after pushing a carjacker to the ground and running away on Goose Island.

About 1:55 p.m., he was entering his Jeep Grand Cherokee in the 800 block of West Division Street where someone came up and demanded his keys, according to Chicago police.

The 66-year-old refused and pushed the suspect to the ground, sprinting past him to a nearby business for safety, police said. While he ran, the suspect took out a gun and fired shots at him.

The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition, police said.

The gunman allegedly took off in a gray or silver-colored Chevy Malibu.

Goose Island, situated on the North Branch of the Chicago River, has seen at least two violent carjacking incidents in recent years.

In 2017, two teens carjacked a Jeep at gunpoint in the 800 block of North Racine and crashed it during a high-speed chase in Oak Park, authorities have said. Two suspects were each sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

In 2018, a woman in her 60s was fatally struck by a carjacking suspect in the 800 block of North Larrabee, police said.

The 18th Police District, which covers Goose Island and much of the Near North Side, has seen a 24% increase in shootings since last year, according to official police statistics. The district has recorded 21 shootings through Aug. 23 this year, compared to 17 shootings during the same timeframe in 2019.