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73-year-old woman recovering from violent carjacking

Posted at 5:28 PM, Mar 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-13 23:21:51-04

A 73-year-old grandmother continued to recover at the hospital on Monday, a day after police say she was carjacked by a group of teens.

According to investigators, the alleged carjacking took place around 3 pm on Sunday at the Vivion Oaks apartment complex near North Oak Trafficway.

Police said Janet Wilson was attacked by a group of 4-5 teenagers as she was getting out of her car.

73-year-old Janet Wilson says she was attacked and carjacked by a group of teens at Vivion Oaks apartment.

On Monday, Wilson's daughter told 41 Action News that her mother suffered multiple injuries in the attack.

"She's still in pretty serious condition," Heather Kirkpatrick explained. "They have her up in neurological ICU."

Terrence Moore, who lives at the apartment complex and claims he witnessed the attack, said he was unsure what was happening when he heard a commotion outside.

"When I heard them burning out, I thought it was someone just throwing bottles and they missed the dumpster. It was actually the kids stealing the car," he said. "I heard the scream. I heard glass break."

Moments after running outside, Moore said he found Wilson badly injured.

"When we found her, she was not moving at all. She was completely unconscious," he explained. "When I came down, she was laying on the concrete with her head under the car. I noticed there was a blood clot from where she got hit so hard."

Moore said he noticed Wilson suffered a bad gash to her forehead, resulting in a large amount of blood on her face.

On Monday, he believed the attack was carefully planned out by the suspects.

"It was premeditated. They already knew what they were going to do," Moore told 41 Action News. "They were just looking for a victim they could conquer and take control of and that's what they did."

Moore explained how he saw the suspects earlier in the day walking around the parking lot of the complex.

He said at least one of the teens asked him for a cigarette at one point.

A day after the carjacking, he said the crime was tough to believe.

"She always had a sweet demeanor about herself. A very caring lady, a very kind lady," Moore explained. "We would never expect something like this to happen to a person who is so kind."

Outside St. Luke's Health System on Monday, Kirkpatrick said the crime had left her feeling uneasy.

"I, unfortunately, was walking in the parking garage and somebody walked up behind me and it made me jump," she said.

With the search still on for the suspects, Kirkpatrick hopes justice comes soon.

"I want to know who would do that to a little old lady," she said. "I want to know why they would attack a defenseless woman."

Wilson's family describes the car that was stolen as a silver Chevrolet Equinox.

A Chevy Equinox similar to the one stolen from Wilson.

Moore described three of the teenage suspects as follows:

  • A light black muscular male around 170 pounds wearing blue jeans and a red/green hoodie. Possibly around 5'11".
  • A mixed colored male around 6'1" in height. Skinny, wearing a red jacket, blue jeans, and a red snow hat.
  • A female around 170-180 pounds wearing a white shirt, black pants, and red/white/blue stocking cap. Short.

Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call 1-816-474-TIPS.

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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com

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