The sharp rise in the rate of incidents of carjacking in Metro-Detroit has led to the issue of carjacking being on the fore of residents’ minds. Here are a few facts that each one of us need to familiarize ourselves with, regarding carjacking.

First and foremost, a carjacking refers to a violent offense where an assailant who is armed with a dangerous weapon, forcibly ejects a vehicle occupier from therein, with the purposes of stealing it. The carjacker may shoot the car occupant if the latter fails to comply with demands made. This is a method that is preferred to stealing an unoccupied vehicle since the chance of damage to the vehicle is greatly minimized.

In Michigan, a carjacking is classified as a robbery which is defined as taking or attempting to take anything of value from its owner under confrontational circumstances. 2,647 robberies are reported to have taken place in Detroit, Michigan in 2009.
There have been three high-profile carjacking incidents in the Detroit area.

One involves a 67-year old man who was forced by his assailant to drive around the Schoenherr Market in Warren while the latter took the victim’s personal effects. He then left the vehicle and is yet to be found by Police.

The second incident involved the city’s Director of Human Resources, whose vehicle was stolen at gun-point as she was loading things into the automobile. However, the suspect was caught when the police spotted the car and gave chase.

The third ended fatally when a man who was fueling his car at a gas station was attacked by an assailant who demanded possession of the car that had a five-year old in the back. A gun battle between the two ensued and although the victim was shot three times, he managed to shoot the assailant severally, who died.

Image Credit: