HYATTSVILLE, Md. — The Hyattsville Police Department is on the lookout for a series of suspects involved in a Thursday morning armed carjacking at the Mall at Prince George's.
According to police, a mall employee pulled up to her work just before 6 a.m. on the 3500 block of East-West Highway in Hyattsville when four vehicles boxed her in. Police said one of the suspects pointed what appeared to be a rifle or a machine pistol at her and demanded she surrender her car.
Investigators say the woman's 2016 silver Nissan Rogue with Maryland tags 2DT5949 was stolen. The car was last seen headed west on East-West Highway.
"This was a coordinated, violent carjacking," said Hyattsville Police Chief Jarod J. Towers. He says that what is even more concerning is the type of weapon that was used in the violent incident.
The victim was not injured according to investigators, but she is shaken up.
Police say they are combing through surveillance video, but it appears that only one suspect was armed in the incident. Towers said this is the first armed carjacking conducted in this manner that he has heard of in Hyattsville.
"So here in Hyattsville, this type of thing is pretty unusual. Nationally we've obviously seen an uptick in crime, an uptick in violent crime and carjackings," said Towers, who also briefly mentioned the uptick in crime involving youth. The ages of the suspects involved in the armed carjacking have still not been released.
The four vehicles involved in the carjacking are described as:
- White Chevy Impala
- Silver Toyota SUV
- Dark Hyundai Elentra sedan
- Black Ford SUV, either an Explorer or Edge
Anyone with information is asked to call Hyattsville police at 301-985-5060.