Women upset but unhurt in gunpoint carjacking
Passenger with medical condition driven for short time in stolen SUV
Investigators are searching for a suspect in an armed carjacking Wednesday morning in which a passenger was briefly driven around in the stolen SUV before being forced out of the vehicle in northeast Calgary.
Police say a support worker and her passenger, who has a medical condition, were in a parked SUV in the Shoppers Drug Mart parking lot at Marlborough Mall at 3800 Memorial Dr. N. E. when they were approached by a woman at around 10: 10 a. m., said Staff Sgt. Geoff Gawlinski.
“She started asking directions, how to get to the LRT or something to that effect,” Gawlinski said. “At that time, she produced a handgun and told the care worker to get out of the vehicle.”
The culprit then got behind the wheel and drove off before the passenger had a chance to get out of the SUV, he said.
About 15 minutes later, the SUV stopped and the passenger was forced out near the 5000 block of Marbank Drive N. E.
The passenger, in her late 40s, was discovered in the middle of the street and helped by a bystander to the curb, where she was met by paramedics, said EMS spokesman Stuart Brideaux.
Moments later, the support worker, a woman in her early 20s, was brought to the scene. Both were assessed by EMS but neither was injured, Brideaux said.
The women were later taken to police headquarters to be interviewed.
Investigators are now searching for the suspect, described as a Caucasian woman, between 30 and 40 years old, with a heavy build and long, brown hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a grey hoodie, a grey winter jacket with a fur- lined hood, black pants and brown shoes.
The stolen vehicle is described as a light blue 2007 Toyota RAV4 with Alberta plates ZSK 727. Police have not located a weapon. Gawlinski told reporters this was a “very unusual, very brazen” incident that took place in a busy, well lit, public place, and was very emotionally upsetting for the victims.
“It was most likely a crime of opportunity,” he said, adding it’s possible the suspect didn’t see the passenger before getting into the vehicle.
Investigators have released CCTV images from the area and urge anyone who recognizes the person in the photos not to approach the individual but to contact police immediately.