(RepublicanView.org) – A DoorDash driver in Richmond, Virginia, was carjacked by an 11-year-old and a young adult while making a delivery. Deon Smith, who also works as a nurse, was delivering food to an apartment building on Westover Hills Boulevard when two males approached her; an 18-year-old and an 11-year-old. Smith said she initially thought they were asking for money, until she saw they had a gun and understood they were after her car.
One of the alleged offenders told the nurse he would kill her if she didn’t give up the vehicle, and she said she replied, “‘Are you serious? You want to kill somebody at your age.” Fearing for her life, however, she handed over the car and the two carjackers fled.
Police later recovered Ms. Smith’s car in Henrico County after it was involved in an accident that left the thieves requiring hospital treatment, but neither was seriously harmed. Officers detained 18-year-old Jahlia Henley and the unnamed 11-year-old and charged them with robbery.
Smith said she had only just completed payments on the car and would struggle to do both of her jobs without it.
Carjacking figures have skyrocketed across the United States and in a disturbing trend, young people are taking part. During the 2020 health emergency, the number of incidents rose significantly and in a New York Times article published last year, one teen said young people started doing it for fun after hearing about others stealing cars to make money.
The boy told the New York Times that as rumors spread about the growing prevalence of the crime, younger and younger people got involved. A community worker told the paper that “carjacking became a sport,” and a “bandwagon” that kids jumped on. It was “almost like a fad,” Warees Majeed said.
The nation’s capital is particularly badly affected by the crime, according to police statistics. Carjackings have approximately doubled in the last year in Washington DC, according to police statistics.
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