The Chattanooga Police Department arrested three juveniles after a carjacking and a stolen vehicle pursuit to Holtzclaw Avenue.
The Chattanooga Police Department responded on Saturday at 5:50 p.m. to a carjacking in the 1000 block of Belmeade Avenue. While officers were en route to the victim's location, the Hamilton County 9-1-1 Emergency Communication District dispatchers notified all officers of the victim's vehicle description and license plate information.
A Chattanooga Police officer was patrolling the area of Shallowford Road and Moss Street when the officer observed a vehicle matching the description of the stolen vehicle.
The officer checked the license plate number with the dispatcher and it was confirmed to be the stolen vehicle. Shortly after confirming the vehicle was stolen, the officer initiated their lights and sirens in order to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle. The driver failed to stop and attempted to evade officers.
Near the end of the vehicle pursuit, the driver turned onto North Holtzclaw Avenue where the roadway was blocked by a moving train. The driver attempted to drive on the sidewalk, but crashed into a ditch.
After the crash, an occupant of the stolen vehicle exited the vehicle with a handgun in his hand. When the armed suspect exited the vehicle, a CPD officer fired his handgun. There were no injuries resulting from the discharge. There were three suspects in the vehicle and they were all detained.
CPD's Robbery Unit responded to conduct the carjacking investigation. CPD's Homicide Unit responded to conduct the aggravated assault on police investigation. CPD's Traffic Unit responded to conduct the traffic crash investigation. CPD's Internal Affairs also responded to the scene. The Chattanooga Police Department notified the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office due to an officer discharging their firearm.
The preliminary carjacking investigation reveals that the victim, a 59-year-old woman, was sitting in her vehicle in the 1000 block of Belmeade Avenue when she was carjacked. While she was sitting in her vehicle, three males approached her vehicle and one of the suspects pointed a gun at her and told her to get out of the vehicle. She was in fear for her life so she quickly exited the vehicle and went to hide underneath a nearby vehicle. The suspects jumped into her vehicle and drove away.
The victim provided the suspects' descriptions which matched the description of the suspects found in the stolen vehicle.
The three suspects were found to be juveniles -- one 17-year-old male and two 15-year-old males. The Robbery Unit obtained juvenile attachments for the three suspects charging them with carjacking. They were arrested and transported to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.