A 17-year-old boy has been charged with 11 carjackings on Chicago’s South and Southwest sides, nine of them on the same day.
Nine of the armed carjackings happened Aug. 20, and the other two were on Aug. 18 and Wednesday, the day he was arrested, according to Chicago police.
He is charged with 11 felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm and two felony counts of criminal damage to government-supported property, police said. His name was not released because of his age.
Eight of the carjackings were reported in the 8th police district in Chicago Lawn, where theft is up 84% and motor vehicle theft is up 61% from a year ago. Overall crime is up about 45% in the South Side district, according to police data.
Two of the carjackings on Aug. 20 happened about four blocks from each other, in the 5600 block of South Albany Avenue and in the 5700 block of South Richmond Street. The teen is accused of stealing another four vehicles the same day within a few miles of each other in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side. He also is accused of stealing three more vehicles that day.