‘Show me your hands! Get on the ground!’ 5 carjackings in four and a half hours in Rochester

ROCHESTER N.Y. (WHEC) — Between 9:50 p.m. Wednesday and 1:35 a.m. Thursday, five vehicles were stolen with a gun pointed at the owner. Two of the victims were Uber drivers and the one person arrested so far is 16 years old.

Here are the vehicles RPD is still looking for:

• 2018 Mazda CX5 BGH4748 stolen from the 400 block of Alexander Street
• 2012 Honda Civic with a yellow Georgia temporary paper plate stolen from the 100 block of Webster Avenue
• 2017 Ford Escape JKJ6749 stolen from 1100 block of East Main Street
• 2018 Jeep Compass HEH7119 stolen from 400 block of West Ridge Road

RPD said the first carjacking happened at 9:50 p.m. at 410 Alexander Street, near East Main Street.

"An Uber driver was cleaning out his vehicle when he was approached by a group of males that appeared to be teenagers and was robbed at gunpoint," RPD Lt. Greg Bello said.

Forty minutes later, a Toyota Avalon was stolen at the 300 block of Dunn Street.

Two and a half hours later, a Honda Civic was stolen at the 100 block of Webster Avenue. Bello said it had a yellow paper license plate from Georgia.

"The operator was sitting in front of his residence, 100 blocks, when a group of young males approached and robbed him at what appeared to be gunpoint," Bello said.

Ten minutes later, another Uber driver got carjacked when a Ford Escape was stolen at the 1100 block of East Main Street.

A half-hour later, two men standing outside their Jeep Compass in a parking lot at the 400 block of West Ridge Road got carjacked.

Ten minutes after that, police spotted the stolen Toyota Avalon on Dewey Avenue. After a short chase down Steko Avenue, the car crashed into a tree. Teenagers jumped out and ran.

"Show me your hands! Get on the ground! " police yelled as they chased after them. The video was captured on security cameras at a house on the corner.

Police caught the 16-year-old driver.

"So clearly with the MO, it appears they’re going from one to the next and the next," Bello said.

Brean: "Do you believe it was the same group that stole all the cars last night or this morning?"

Lt. Greg Bello, RPD: "So we can’t say that for sure. But if you look at the time frames, they’re all within 20 to 40 minutes apart, all within a set period of time and they stopped when we took one person into custody and the others fled from the vehicle."

RPD counts 14 carjackings this year. They’ve arrested seven people.

In all the cases overnight, police say victims were stopped and some were standing outside their car.

So police say—if you’re pulled over, be aware of your surroundings.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911.