String of carjackings has residents on alert

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A string of carjackings in Jacksonville has the Sheriff's Office as well as residents on high alert.

There is no word from JSO on whether the three attacks were by the same person but police have said they are looking into the possibility. 

The three carjackings all happened in less than a week. One happened in Northwest Jacksonville while the other two in Murray Hill and Riverside. Police said they have a suspect in custody in but wouldn't say if it is the same person responsible for all three.

Police said they do know that all the attacks happened at gas stations and had what detectives call easy targets, two women and an elderly man.

"Carjackings are crimes (where they) are looking for vulnerable victims. If you look like a vulnerable victim to them, they're going to target you. Don't look down, don't look away. This can happen in the middle of the day. But another thing, if you need to get gas in an area you're not comfortable with, try and make plans to go with someone else," JSO public information officer Melissa Bujeda said.

One victim, who asked not to be identified, said she was pumping gas at a BP Gas station on Stockton Street when it happened.

"There was a guy waiting for me. I had already paid the attendant and he was waiting for me to fill up my car. Once I finished filling up my car he pulled a gun into my face," the victim said.

Shortly after that she wound up on the concrete and said she honestly doesn't remember how she got there.

"I don't remember if he pulled me out or I fell out, but I got down on the concrete between the pump and the car and put my hands over my face and screamed, ‘Somebody help me! Help me please!' And that's when people tried to come and help me," the woman said.

Police are now trying to piece these crimes together and determine if they're linked.

"The suspect they have in custody is just a suspect in one of the three cases. That person was in jail on unrelated charges," Bujeda said.
 


About the Author:

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.