Teacher carjacked at gunpoint in Whitney Young High School parking lot
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CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A teacher was carjacked at gunpoint Tuesday in the parking lot of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School on the Near West Side.
The woman was stepping out of her vehicle in the staff lot in the 100 block of South Laflin at 8:10 a.m. when a teenage boy entered the passenger side of the vehicle, Chicago police and the school said in a statement.
He claimed he was being chased and needed help, the school said.
The teen then showed a gun and demanded her phone and purse, the school said. He told her to exit the car and drove off. The teacher, who is in her 30s, was uninjured.
Police described the carjacker as 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds. He wore a dark gray hooded sweatshirt and black pants.
Police arrested a person of interest overnight with the help of FBI agents, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet. Charges are currently pending against the suspect, police said.
The carjacking happened during the morning rush as school was starting.
Whiteney Young has requested additional police to be present before and after classes, the school said in a statement. The high school also said it will be requesting additional cameras for the campus.
Whitney Young High School is across the street from the Chicago Police Education and Training Division.