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Woman carjacked while warming up her car; Police looking for the suspect

Posted at 6:30 PM, Jan 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-09 18:31:34-05

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Be aware of your surroundings. It’s a message Kalamazoo Public Safety are reminding residents to do at all times after a woman was carjacked Tuesday morning while sitting in her car.

“A female resident had started her car to warm it up, like most of us do,” said KDPS Sgt. Jason Hendrick. "When she went out to the car, a male was waiting somewhere in the area.”

The police department said in a press release that a man approached her around 8:21 a.m. and demanded that she get out of the car and onto the ground. He told her that he was armed.  Frightened, she complied. 

“He got into the car [and] drove away,” said Sgt. Hendrick. “As he was leaving the driveway at a high rate of speed he lost control right at the end of the driveway and crashed into a snowbank and got stuck.”

He immediately stole a few items from the car and ran away, Sgt. Hendrick said. When police arrived on scene they set up a perimeter around the neighborhood and searched for him along with their K9 unit. 

“We were not able to locate him,” said Sgt. Hendrick. “However the property that he took we found behind the house of the 600 block of Minor street.”

Sgt. Hendrick said they’re looking for the suspect, described to be a light-skinned black male, 6’5 in height with freckles on his face. They’re also seeing if there’s any connection between the carjacking and a recent robbery where a woman was approached while exiting her car only a few miles away.

“We can’t rule it out,” said Sgt. Hendrick. “Until we locate, and hopefully with the help of the community, we locate this person [and] find out what their intent was and are able to question him, we’re not going to be able to make that connection. 

The victim is doing okay now, said Sgt. Hendrick. She was shaken by the incident but walked away uninjured. He said what happened to her is reminder for everyone to always be alert.

“When you leave your house and you’re walking to your car, you know look left and right,” said Sgt. Hendrick. “Look up and down your street. We don’t want to live in a world like that but unfortunately we do.”

Anyone with tips is asked to call the Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100