11-year-old boy arrested, considered a 'prolific carjacker'

CHICAGO -- Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown announced Monday that an 11-year-old boy is now in custody for a Chicago carjacking earlier this month, calling it "a sad state of affairs."

"Unfortunately, this 11-year-old has been arrested before, and he is considered a prolific carjacker in our city," Brown said.

The 11-year-old is now charged with one felony count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm.

The crime took place on Nov. 14 in the parking lot of a Jewel Osco in the 4700 block of North Cumberland at about 7:45 a.m. Police sources told WLS-TV that the victim was a Chicago police sergeant's wife who was robbed at gunpoint. The stolen vehicle, a 2021 BMW SUV, was located several hours later on the city's South Side.

"The 11-year-old seems to be driving these carjackings," Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said. "So he's not just there, I guess, along for the ride with other individuals."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot also reacted to the news of such a young child arrested in connection with such a serious offense.

"I'm going to be meeting with the juvenile judges here relatively soon to address that issue," Lightfoot said. "We have a crisis, and it's a crisis that they have to own some responsibility for. We cannot keep putting these kids back out on the streets with no support, no resources, no monitoring."

The police department said this incident was not an isolated one. The 11-year-old is being investigated for his role in several other recent carjackings around the city.