Watch CBS News

'It happened in like one minute:' Man describes horror of being carjacked, pistol-whipped at Lawndale gas station

Man describes horror of being carjacked, pistol-whipped 02:38

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Bridgeport man on Tuesday shared his chilling experience with a pair of carjackers who left him injured.

Lukas Repsys stopped to get gas in Lawndale and was carjacked and pistol-whipped. As CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reported, Repsys said he instinctively wanted to fight back after the suspects put a gun to his head, but he also wanted to live to see his 1-year-old son grow up.

He says a car is replaceable, but his life is not.

"I have a little child," Repsys said. "I want to see him growing."

That is the only thing that kept Repsys, 31, from fighting back after being carjacked at gunpoint last Thursday.

"I just don't understand," he said. "It happened like in one minute."

Repsys is now left with a nasty gash above his left eye after being pistol-whipped by one of the suspects.

"I wanted to get him and to take his gun away, but then, to my head, I thought about my son. I wanted to see my son, because I thought, 'You know, he could shoot you," Repsys said.

Police reports show officers responded to the Amoco gas station at Kostner Avenue and Roosevelt Road.

Surveillance video shows police were met by Repsys and his 41-year-old passenger. They told police two suspects came to the driver and passenger side doors, yanking them out of the car.

"They opened the doors from both sides," Repsys said, "and he pointed it, and then he said, 'Get out from the car.'"

Repsys says he is worried the attackers will track him down, because letters with his address are in the glovebox.

"They can easily come to this house. They have the keys to my other house," he said. "They have the keys. They have the address. They can easily come in and steal the stuff from me."

Repsys says he'll be more alert.

"I wasn't careful enough that night. I was relaxed," he said. "But you never know when stuff like this can happen."

The car never turned up, so Repsys does not have any transportation. He is just thankful his life was spared.

Police said no one was in custody late Tuesday.

WEB EXTRA: Tracking Chicago's Carjackings

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.