Rosario Celaya is from Mexico City and considers herself pretty streetwise. But the 35-year-old was caught off guard two weeks ago when a man who police believe is a serial carjacker stole her car and her purse as she was coming home from the grocery store. Police believe the carjacker is targeting women in a square of East Dallas roughly between Central Expressway and Abrams Road, and Lovers and Mockingbird lanes. The man who attacked Celaya was wearing the type of reflective safety vest that construction workers wear. "I am used to be aware of my surroundings, but this man looked so clean-cut, and I never thought he was there to harm me," Celaya said. "I just want to tell everyone to be aware of their surroundings at all times."
The carjacker has attacked four other women since Feb. 5, when a 30-year-old woman was held up at a gas station at Mockingbird and Greenville Avenue. Based on reports from the Dallas Police Department, it appears that the robber surprises women as they are getting in or out of their vehicles. On March 22, he robbed a 26-year-old woman who had just made an ATM withdrawal at Chase Bank near Central and Mockingbird. He got away with her SUV and her purse. None of the victims has been injured.
Self defense expert Michael Coles, who owns the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in Plano, said being aware of your surroundings is the most important way to prevent being a carjacking victim. "Always look purposeful and make eye contact with everyone around you," he said. "It’s about projecting confidence."
