Stick Shift Foils Armed Suspects Carjacking Attempt: CPD

CHICAGO — Two suspects are in custody after they were arrested following a crime spree on Tuesday night when at least one attempt to carjack a victim was foiled when the suspects couldn’t figure out the vehicle’s manual transmission, police said on Wednesday.

Chicago Police said that the two men were arrested in the 7000 block of South Wood Street after the men fled in a 2019 Nissan Sentra, which they took after pulling a gun on the vehicle’s owner just before 8 p.m.

The men approached the car’s owner, a 33-year-old man, in the 1000 block of Lake Shore Drive.

The carjacking was the third time in 20 minutes the men approached a vehicle owner after the two previous attempts were unsuccessful, police said.

In the first attempt, police said the two men approached a 26-year-old woman in the 1500 block of North State Parkway and demanded the woman’s keys and other belongings while she was getting into her car.

The men shoved the woman to the ground, but then fled after they were startled by a passing car, police said. The woman refused medical treatment.

Less than 10 minutes later, police said the men approached the owner of an Acura sedan in the 1400 block of North Astor Street and demanded that the 41-year-old man give them his wallet after they had gotten into his car, police said.

The man got out of the car after giving the suspects his wallet, but police said the two armed suspects were unable to figure out how to operate the manual transmission, which led them to flee on foot.

Police have not identified the two suspects who remain in police custody.