FERGUSON, Mo. — The Ferguson Police Department chief said we must do something to stop an epidemic. Tuesday afternoon, three kids, including a 12-year-old, 15-year-old and 17-year-old were arrested in connection with a carjacking.
Police said the carjacking happened in Forestwood Park in Ferguson, Missouri.
Amber Phillips said she comes to the park several times a week with her family. Phillips said it's startling knowing it involved a police pursuit.
"They'll end up speeding or speeding through the lot or speeding through a neighborhood we're staying in," Phillips said.
The minors, who were dressed in all black and ski masks, carjacked a man at gunpoint Tuesday in the park. Ferguson police said the gun was stolen. No injuries were reported.
Capt. Harry Dilworth with Ferguson police said the teens stole a Kia first, then carjacked the driver of a Volkswagen. Officers saw the Volkswagen that had been reported stolen in a carjacking earlier Tuesday. Officers tried to stop the Volkswagen at West Florissant and Sunbury Avenues, but it did not stop. Police then began a pursuit. The high-speed pursuit went through several streets including Chambers Road, Hanley Road and Interstate 270, police said. It ended with a crash and the teen trio was taken into custody.
"One vehicle continued to go eastbound. The second vehicle did an abrupt U-turn. Half my force went toward the Kia. The other half of the police force went in the direction of the Volkswagen," Dilworth said.
Ferguson police said the City of Jennings helped arrest the two boys, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old, who will go to family court. A 17-year-old was also arrested but then released from custody.
Anders Walker, who serves as the Lillie Myers professor of law at St. Louis University, said many of the area's carjackings are committed by minors.
"Most of those kids go into the juvenile system. The system in Missouri is designed to try to give these kids some help so that they can reform themselves and enter society productively," Walker said.
It comes after a string of carjackings in Webster Groves and Kirkwood.
Dilworth said the department is working on all possible connections.
"Right now, our detectives are aggressively acting on it ... trying to do interviews to see if we can correlate the two together," Dilworth said.
Ferguson's Chief of Police released this letter to the public, pleading with community members, which reads:
To the dedicated citizens of our community and across the St. Louis region: The fact that a juvenile can participate in a violent crime and be back on our streets within a day is a clear signal that something in our justice system is not right. This kind of swift turnaround goes against the very grain of accountability and justice we strive for in our society. It's evident to me, as I'm sure it is to many of you, that there's a deep-seated issue at play here.
Together, as a united front of police and the public, it is crucial that we call for and enact changes to the policies that allow for such disheartening outcomes. It is only through our collective voice and effort that we can bring about the necessary adjustments to ensure that those who endanger our well-being receive appropriate repercussions for their actions.
For every single person in our region who has poured their energy and resources into securing their belongings and their piece of the American dream, it is nothing short of a travesty to watch those possessions be jeopardized by acts of violence. The fruits of your perseverance and dedication to a lawful, earned livelihood must be safeguarded. As your Chief, I stand with you.
Ferguson police said the best way to prevent thefts is steering wheel locks.
The department is currently out of them, but they hope to have more for Kia and Hyundai owners in the near future.