ST. LOUIS — Police are looking for help finding a man they believe was involved in an armed carjacking and an armed robbery that happened just minutes apart earlier this month.
Police identified the suspect as Ryan Whalen and said he is not in custody. Anyone who knows where he might be is asked to call police or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
The carjacking happened on Saturday, June 6, at 10:22 p.m. on the 3600 block of Oregon Avenue. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said the victim, a 48-year-old man, had already been taken to the hospital by the time they were alerted of the shooting.
The victim told police he was sitting in his car when the suspect got out of the passenger side of a blue SUV, pointed a gun at him and told him to get out of the car. The man complied, but the suspect shot him several times anyway. The suspect then got into the man's car and drove away, with the blue SUV following after him.
The man was taken to the hospital where he was listed in critical condition shortly after the incident. Police did not provide an update on his condition.
Police believe the carjacking is connected to a robbery that happened at about the same time on the 2800 block of Winnebago, about a block from the carjacking.
A 16-year-old girl and a 25-year-old woman were walking to their car at around the same time when they said a blue SUV pulled up next to them. The suspect got out of the passenger side door and demanded their belongings. Their phones, wallets and car keys were taken, police said.
They said they heard gunshots nearby, so they ran back inside and called police.
According to online court documents, Whalen was convicted of a number of crimes since 2007, including first-degree robbery and tampering with a motor vehicle.
