Cops are appealing for witnesses following another staged carjacking in York Region.
York Regional Police said officers responded on Sunday at about 10:20 p.m. to a carjacking in the Major Mackenzie Dr. E.-Reesor Rd. area.
Police said the victim’s Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon was rear-ended by a dark-coloured sedan before two suspects forced the victim out of their vehicle and fled in tandem with the suspect vehicle.
Cops said at least three suspects were involved. The first two are males with a skinny build who were wearing dark clothing and a balaclava. The third was the driver of the vehicle, but there was no description available.
The latest incident came a week after York Regional Police issued a warning to the public following a re-emergence of staged-collision carjackings this winter.
The scam sees suspects purposely cause minor collisions by driving into the victim’s vehicle and when the victim gets out to assess the damage, the suspects will confront them, often with firearms, and steal the vehicle.
Suspects have also used distraction techniques to allow another suspect to steal the vehicle.
“Unfortunately, this is nothing new,” Const. James Dickson said last week. “We’ve seen this style of carjacking previously in the past. In 2023, we saw three incidents in a very short succession in Markham.”
Police said on Nov. 3 at about 7 p.m. a Lexus was hit and stolen by two armed suspects. On Nov. 20 at about 7:10 p.m., a Cadillac Escalade was hit by a bike and stolen by two armed suspects who pulled up in a sedan. On Jan. 9 at about 8:20 p.m., a Cadillac Escalade was hit and there was an attempt by two suspects, one armed, to steal the car before the kill switch prevented the theft. Last Friday at about 5:50 p.m., another Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon was struck and stolen by a suspect.
Investigators are appealing for witnesses in Sunday’s incident to come forward. Anyone with video footage of the area at the time of the incident is asked to call police at 1-866-876-5423, Ext. 6630, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or 1800222tips.com.