16-year-old charged in pair of South Side carjackings as statistics show 50% rise in the attacks over last year

A 16-year-old boy is charged with two recent carjackings in Douglas on the South Side as carjackings continue to rise over the previous year.

The first attack was on July 7, when the teen carjacked a man in the 500 block of East 33rd Place, Chicago police said. He allegedly forced the man to drive to several locations and give his credit card information to make purchases.

On Aug. 31 last year, the teen carjacked a man at gunpoint in the 3200 block of South King Drive and drove him around too, forcing him to give his debit card information to withdraw money, police said.

The teen was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of carjacking, two counts of kidnapping and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm and robbery.

Carjackings are up 53% this year over the same time in 2020, according to public police data. There have been 870 carjackings this year through July 22, compared with 566 during the same period in 2020.

Carjackings have tripled this year when compared with 2019, when 286 carjackings were reported during the same time.