Carjackings Rise During Pandemic, Police Offer Safety Tips

BETHESDA, MD — Police say they have seen a recent rise in carjackings across Montgomery County, and believe the coronavirus pandemic may have something to do with it.

Authorities on Thursday said there have been nine carjackings — including one attempted carjacking — so far in January. Suspects have been charged in six of those incidents.

Police said they involved:

A 19-year-old boy from Washington, D.C., and a 21-year-old man (of an unconfirmed address)

• Charged in an armed carjacking that occurred in Silver Spring on Jan. 11

A 19-year-old male from Oxon Hill, Maryland

• Charged in a carjacking that occurred in Chevy Chase on Jan. 14

A 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl from Washington, D.C.

• Charged in two carjackings that occurred in Chevy Chase on Jan. 21 and 22

A 16-year-old boy from Washington, D.C., and a 16-year-old boy from Temple Hills, Maryland

• Charged in an attempted carjacking and a carjacking that occurred in Germantown on Jan. 26

Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti, a county police spokeswoman, told Patch Thursday that detectives started to notice an increase in carjackings in September.

"In a lot of these carjackings, the suspects were taking advantage of people who were leaving their cars running and unattended," she said, adding that the victims were usually food delivery drivers and customers picking up orders from restaurants. "We think more people are doing that because of the pandemic."

Source: Montgomery County Police Department

There have been more than 30 successful and attempted carjackings in the county since September, according to Innocenti. During that first month, she said most of the carjackings happened in downtown Silver Spring. Since then, incidents have been cropping up all over the jurisdiction.

Innocenti said she does not believe the carjackings are related.

"(These carjackings) illustrate that there isn't just one group behind them. If you look at the recent carjackings, (the suspects) are from different places ... and are different ages," she said.

Unlike the carjackings that took place late last year, the latest incidents seemed to involve younger suspects. These carjackers, police said, often resorted to violence.

"Investigators have recently noted new and different commonalities among these carjackings in the county: the suspects are often young, some not even of a legal driving age, and the suspects often use violence — they present handguns or assault the victims," police said.

With the recent rise in carjackings, police are offering the following safety tips to residents:

• Do not leave your vehicle running and unattended.

• Lock your vehicle and keep your vehicle keys with you at all times.

• Never leave a spare key or valet key in your vehicle. Note: Valet keys can be used to start the vehicle.

• If your vehicle has a "push-button" ignition system, make sure that the vehicle is turned off and locked before you leave it unattended.

• Use a vehicle locator device.

• If someone demands your vehicle keys, let them take your vehicle! Do not risk serious injury.