A 15-year-old who had been arrested in Forsyth County on Thursday has been tied to a carjacking in Midtown, authorities said.
The male teenager is accused of using an electric scooter to ambush a man and steal his rental car just before 9:45 p.m. Monday, Atlanta police said in a news release. He was arrested in Forsyth County on unrelated charges.
Police have obtained warrants charging the teen with aggravated assault and hijacking a motor vehicle. The suspect is being charged as a juvenile, and AJC.com only identified minors being charged as adults.
The victim initially told police that two young men riding e-scooters attacked him and stole his vehicle at the Chevron gas station at 180 Ponce De Leon Avenue. Officer TaSheena Brown told AJC.com that investigators found the second young man didn’t participate in the carjacking and rode away on the e-scooter, so he isn’t expected to be charged.
RELATED: Driver attacked, carjacked by 2 men riding e-scooters in Midtown
According to an incident report released Friday, the victim was standing outside the victim while his uncle went to the bathroom in the convenience store. Shortly after seeing the two young men on e-scooters, he noticed one of them had gotten into the driver’s seat of the car, the report said.
When the man tried to get the teen out of the car, he was punched, causing him to fall down, the report said. The suspect then drove the vehicle away, running over the victim’s right leg in the process.
Despite the victim’s injuries, he refused to be taken to a hospital, saying a family member would bring him to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, the report said.
The stolen vehicle was a 2019 Ford Taurus with a Tennessee tag (#1P64S1), according to an incident report. It’s unclear whether it’s been recovered.
Under Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom’s new nighttime scooter ban, which went into effect Friday, the suspect and other young man would have been violating the 9 p.m. curfew for e-scooters and electric bikes. Those modes of transportation are banned between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.
MORE: Atlanta mayor: No more riding electric scooters and bikes after 9 p.m.
AJC.com has reached out to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office for more information on the 15-year-old’s arrest.
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