Carjack thugs punch woman to the ground before fleeing in her BMW X5 as police hunt robbery gang
Carjack thugs punch woman to the ground before fleeing in her BMW X5 as police hunt crowbar-wielding robbery gang who have struck three times this month
- Three carjackers punched a woman to the ground before stealing her BMW X5
- The masked men attacked the woman in her driveway in Solihull, West Midlands
- The violent robbery was filmed in shocking doorbell camera footage from July 3
By Kate Dennett For Mailonline
Published: 11:18 EDT, 17 July 2020 | Updated: 11:30 EDT, 17 July 2020
Thugs knocked a woman to the ground as she walked up her driveway before stealing her BMW X5 during a violent carjacking.
A gang of three attacked a woman in her 30s in broad daylight in Solihull, West Midlands, before fleeing in her car.
Shocking doorbell camera footage from around 3.20pm on July 3 shows one hooded thug run up the driveway and punch the woman to the ground.
The woman screams in horror as the three men scramble to steal her car keys before running back towards the car.
As the carjackers climb in her car, the woman dashes towards her house, knocking on the door to be let inside.
The offenders speed off in her black BMW X5 along Silhill Hall Road, in convoy with a silver VW Golf, which dropped them at the scene.
The thugs have struck three times in Solihull since the start of July, police say.
A group of masked carjacking thugs knocked a woman to the ground before stealing her BMW X5 in Solihull, West Midlands
The violent carjacking, which took place at around 3.20pm on July 3, was caught on camera in shocking doorbell footage
Two of the carjackings occurred on the same day, while the offenders were armed with a crowbar.
During one of the carjackings, a man in his 50s was pushed to the floor and punched as his Audi RS3 was stolen on Stratford Road at around 3pm on July 14.
Three masked men had confronted him while he was filling up at a petrol station forecourt, in an attack caught in CCTV.
The offenders had pulled up in a black VW Golf with false plates, which was driven my a fourth member of the group.
The VW Golf was stolen in a carjacking in Beauchamp Road at around 10.30am the same day.
A man in his 70s was approached by three men in balaclavas, who pulled up in a white Audi A1 driven by an accomplice.
They stole the keys to the victim’s car before making off in both vehicles.
West Midlands Police are appealing for information about anyone who may have been involved in the thefts.
The trio of men ran up to the woman, who is aged in her 30s, after she got out of her car and punched her to the ground as she screamed out in fear
The masked carjackers scrambled to steal her car keys after violently knocking the woman down and rushed back to her BMW X5, leaving her on the floor
West Midlands Police are appealing for information after as the masked trio are thought to have struck three times in violent carjackings in Solihull across July
Detective Constable Amrit Nepaul, from Force CID in Solihull, said: ‘This was a terrifying situation for the victims to be faced with.
‘These men were not afraid to use violence to get what they wanted. The victims were left in fear of what would happen to them.
‘The Audi RS3 stolen on Tuesday has since been recovered but we need to trace these men to stop them striking again.
‘We’re following lines of enquiry but if you’ve heard anything, or know whose involved, we need you to contact us as soon as possible.’
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on Live Chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk, via 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Solihull’s latest spree of carjackings come after an armed gang were jailed in March for a string of robberies in 2018, the Solihull Observer reported.
Their offences included carjackings at Dorridge train station, Chelmsey Town Football Club and a cemetary in Birmingham, where they threatened a man with a handgun.
The woman dashed towards her house as the men sped off in her car, knocking on the front door to be let inside after the traumatic incident
The offenders jumped into her BMW X5 and sped away along Silhill Hall Road, accompanied by a VW Golf, which had dropped them at the scene and was driven by an accomplice
The trio also threatened a shop assistant who was eight months pregnant at gun-point while they raided the newsagents.
Twenty-two-year-olds Joshua Barrett, from Shirley, and Luke Mander, from Birmingham, struck 46 times between October and December 2018.
Police said they were commanded by ringleader Paul Doyle, aged 41.
Another carjacking gang in balaclavas also threatened a mother with a hammer on November 11 last year.
The woman was targeted by ‘lads on bikes’ when she was picking her daughter up from school Bryanston Road, Birmingham Live reported.
A car blocked her in as two thugs approached her vehicle and tried to smash her window before destroying her car bonnet and wing mirror.
The woman sounded her horn relentlessly and scared away her attackers.
When the police arrived minutes later, the mother learned that she was one of ‘at least five similar incidents’ in the area that afternoon.
