A grandmother’s routine shopping trip to a South Side Aldi turned terrifying when a gunman confronted her in the parking lot and stole her SUV while her 6-year-old grandson stood nearby. Within an hour, the hijacker crashed the stolen car as Chicago authorities closed in.
According to a detention proffer from Cook County prosecutors, the 66-year-old grandmother took her grandson to the Aldi at 620 West 63rd Street on the afternoon of June 8. After getting her purse from the trunk of her black 2024 Buick SUV, she and her grandson began strolling towards the store.
They didn’t get far before Keshawn Gilmore, 18, confronted them with a black revolver, according to authorities. Gilmore allegedly demanded the woman’s keys and “grappled” with her before driving off in her car.
Prosecutors alleged that surveillance tape captured the entire encounter.
Around 4:30 p.m., the stolen SUV activated license plate readers on the inbound Dan Ryan Expressway. Chicago police apprehended it about 30 minutes later near 19th Street and Albany, with Gilmore driving and two passengers inside, according to prosecutors.
When cops attempted to stop the vehicle, Gilmore allegedly accelerated away, disregarding red lights and stop signs. However, the chase ended two minutes later when Gilmore crashed at 3200 South Kedzie, ejecting a juvenile passenger from the SUV’s back seat. The three occupants, including the kid, fled. However, officers apprehended Gilmore, who was still dressed in the same clothes as seen in the Aldi video, according to officials.
Police allegedly discovered a Glock handgun on the driver’s floorboard, with a “distinct shape” matching the weapon in the store footage, as well as a second handgun on the passenger floorboard, according to the detention petition.
Judge Shauna Boliker ordered Gilmore’s detention as a safety risk. He is charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking, aggravated flight, aggravated possession of a firearm, unauthorized transit of a stolen vehicle, and resisting police.