Kidnapping Victim Fought Back and Scared Off Attacker: Police

HICKORY HILLS, IL — Hickory Hills police on Thursday released additional details of an attempted carjacking and aggravated kidnapping that took place Tuesday evening and have local women on edge.

The incidents occurred minutes apart around 9:45 p.m., in the 9700 block of Roberts Road. In the first incident, a suspect described as a black male of small build, believed to be 16 to 18 years of age, wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt, approached a female who was in her car. The suspect flashed a black handgun at the victim and ordered her to unlock the car. She refused and was able to drive away from the area. She reported the crime to police as she left.

The man then approached a second woman sitting in her car at the same location. He got into the unlocked car, showed her the gun and ordered her to drive away. She had driven a short distance when he told her to pull into a parking lot of a closed business. He ordered her to get into the backseat, but the woman fought back and the offender fled, police said.

Hickory Hills Police units responded to the area but were unable to find the attacker. Officers recovered the weapon used in the incidents — an Airsoft pistol, a toy gun that uses compressed air or gas to fire plastic or foam pellets.

The Hickory Hills Police Department, along with the Southwest Major Crimes Task Force and several local law enforcement agencies, continue to investigate.

These incidents are believed to be related to the similar incident that occurred in Palos Hills on Sept. 9.

In that attack, the suspect accosted a woman near her car and forced her at gunpoint to drive to another place, where he then sexually assaulted her, police said.

The attacker is described as a black male, 5-foot-6, between 16 and 18 years old and 120 pounds. He was wearing a gray hoodie and blue jeans.

Palos Hills police are now offering a $1,000 reward for any information on the suspect.

Suspect sketch provided by Palos Hills Police Department