
'It's a disturbing trend.' Cities see large increases in carjackings during pandemic
CNN
Carjackings have risen dramatically over the past two years in some of America's biggest cities. Large cities that track the crime reported increases in 2020 and 2021, especially as the pandemic took hold of the country.
Just outside Chicago, a state senator's car and other valuables were taken at gunpoint in December, and a group of children, one just 10 years old, carjacked more than a dozen people. A rideshare driver being carjacked shot his attackers earlier this month in Philadelphia. Last March, a 12-year-old in Washington, DC was arrested and charged with four counts of armed carjacking.
"The majority of it is young joyriders. They're not keeping the cars. They're jacking cars to commit another crime, typically more serious robberies or shootings, or joyriding around for the sake of social media purpose and street cred," said Christopher Herrmann, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "It's a disturbing trend."