Four armed suspects were taken into custody after authorities say a mother had a gun pointed at her head and was carjacked in Waukegan before the suspects led police on a chase through Lake County.
The Waukegan Police Department responded around 2 p.m. Sunday to the Target, 3050 North Lewis Avenue in Waukegan, for a report of an armed vehicular hijacking.
Officers learned four male suspects carjacked a woman for her gray 2015 Dodge Durango in the parking lot, according to an alert broadcasted to area police departments.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said one of the suspects was armed with a handgun and pointed it at the woman’s head while demanding her car.
The woman was frightened and told the suspect that she needed to get her son out of the car first, Facklam said.
The gunman allowed the woman to remove her child from the car before the four suspects fled in the Dodge southbound on Lewis Avenue from the scene.
A witness who saw the incident unfolding called 911 and provided dispatchers with a description of the main suspect.
Facklam said a Flock camera later alerted officers to the location of the stolen Dodge.
Officers spotted the stolen vehicle around 2:40 p.m. and attempted to stop it.
The Dodge failed to stop and a police pursuit ensued. The chase traveled through Wadsworth and entered into the Gurnee area on Hunt Club Road.
The Dodge sideswiped another vehicle at Hunt Club Road and Grand Avenue in Gurnee, according to officers involved.
During the chase, the Dodge lost its front driver-side tire and the vehicle was driving on the rim.
The pursuit continued southbound on Hunt Club Road and went eastbound on Route 120 through Park City before briefly entering back into Waukegan.
The chase then went south into North Chicago where it came to an end in a grassy lot near Argonne Drive and Kennedy Drive.
Approximately six subjects fled on foot from the Dodge, Facklam said.
Numerous police departments, consisting of dozens of police officers, responded to the scene alongside drones and canine units, police officials said.
A perimeter was set up and a search ensued for the suspects.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said officers took four suspects into custody.
One of the suspects arrested admitted he knew the car was stolen and also said that he possessed multiple guns in the car, Facklam said.
That suspect also said he videotaped himself with the guns and everyone in the car was armed, Facklam said.