ST. LOUIS — Four teen boys were arrested early Wednesday after an Uber driver was carjacked at gunpoint and police chased the stolen vehicle for miles, police said.
Officers were called around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday to the 4400 block of Kennerly Avenue for a report of a carjacking, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ police spokesman Mitch McCoy said.
There, they encountered an Uber driver who said he had arrived at an address to pick someone up when a person appeared, pulled out a gun and demanded the driver exit his car.
The driver, 67, got out, and one of the carjackers fired a shot, police said. McCoy said the driver reported to police that there were three people who carjacked him.
“The driver exited the vehicle,†McCoy said. “And at some point, while he was running away, the suspects fired a shot at him.â€
About an hour later, Real Time Crime Center detectives spotted the car near the intersection of Union Boulevard and Cote Brilliante Avenue. Officers tried to stop the car, but it fled. Officers followed, McCoy said.
The car headed into ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County, where it got a flat tire in Bridgeton near Interstate 70 and Lindbergh Boulevard. Four teens got out of the car and ran in different directions, McCoy said.
With help from the metro air support helicopter and other police agencies, cops arrested all four teens, ages 15, 15, 16 and 17, McCoy said.
All were taken to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County juvenile detention.
They were shortly thereafter released to their guardians, McCoy said. Officers on Wednesday were still working to determine if and how each teen was involved.
McCoy could not comment on whether the teens had initially requested an Uber ride prior to the carjacking.
During the pursuit, two ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ police cars ran into each other. No injuries were reported, but one officer was taken to the hospital for an evaluation after complaining of neck pain, McCoy said.
McCoy on Wednesday pointed out that the city has seen a decrease in reported carjackings. He said this year, police have responded to 45 carjackings, compared to 70 at the same time last year.
