Two Dems who support police reforms are both CARJACKED just hours apart: Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon is robbed at gunpoint in Philadelphia and Illinois Senator and her husband are carjacked in Chicago
Two Democrats who supported police reforms in Philadelphia and Chicago were both carjacked just hours apart from each other.
Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, 62, was robbed at gun point in Philadelphia’s FDR Park on Wednesday afternoon 16 hours after Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford, 53, and her husband, Eric McKennie, were also carjacked on Tuesday night in a suburb 20 minutes outside of Chicago.
Both women supported police reform policies last year following the Black Lives Matter movement, with both co-sponsoring a bill in their respective offices to allow mental health specialists to be dispatched as first responders instead of police officers.
Lightford, the Illinois Black Caucus chairwoman, had also previously supported cutting police budgets in the state, with Chicago proposing to slash 80 million from their police department’s budget while violent crimes soar in the Windy City.
The brazen attacks also came after Philadelphia’s woke District Attorney, Larry Krasner, claimed there is not a ‘crisis of lawlessness’ – despite robberies skyrocketing by 27 per cent since 2020 and murders breaking an all-time record this year.
Scanlon was walking to her parked vehicle and was approached by two men driving a dark-colored SUV, WPVI reported.
They demanded her keys and then fled in her 2017 Acura MDX with license plate LKG-8893.
She had her car, purse, wallet and phone stolen but was not injured, her office confirmed.
The Philadelphia Police Department said the suspects who robbed Scanlon were between 20 and 30 years old.
‘I am relieved that Congresswoman Scanlon was not physically injured, and my thoughts are with her during this difficult time,’ Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement.
‘The PPD will continue to provide any support needed in this case and will work diligently alongside our federal partners to assist in bringing those responsible to justice.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department for additional comment.
In a statement about the robbery, Scanlon’s spokesperson Lauren Cox said: ‘Wednesday afternoon, at around 2:45 p.m., Congresswoman Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint in FDR Park following a meeting at that location.’
She added: ‘The Congresswoman was physically unharmed. She thanks the Philadelphia Police Department for their swift response, and appreciates the efforts of both the Sergeant at Arms in D.C. and her local police department for coordinating with Philly PD to ensure her continued safety.’
The crime against Congresswoman Scanlon comes at the end of a violent year in Philadelphia under ‘progressive prosecutor’ Krasner, who won re-election this year.
Just 16 hours earlier, Illinois’ Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford was the victim of carjacking Tuesday night in a Chicago suburb, police confirmed.
Lightford and her husband, Eric McKennie, were not harmed by the three masked subjects who took off in her black Mercedes-Benz SUV, said Chief of Police Thomas Mills.
‘This is still an ongoing investigation but I can confirm no shots were fired by the police,’ Mills said. ‘The victim did hear what they believed to be gunfire.’
Lightford said in a statement: ‘First and foremost, I am thankful that my husband and I are alive and physically unharmed. I am trying to process the trauma of what happened. I want to thank everyone who has offered their love and support.’
The Illinois Black Caucus chairwoman worked with Barack Obama when he was a state senator representing and in the late 1990s the two worked together to pass a racial profiling reform law.
The incident took place about 12 miles west of Chicago, which is currently fighting a 25-year high murder rate, with 767 homicides occurring within the city so far this year.
Carjackings in the Windy City have jumped by about 32 percent through Sunday, with 1,781, up from 1,352 during the same time last year, Chicago Tribune reported.
