NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The arrest of a man on Saturday for stealing a car containing a 7-year-old child in the Bronx earlier this week comes as police continue to seek a different carjacker who drove off in a Queens vehicle with a 4-year-old girl, the NYPD said.
Mohamed Sakho, 22, is accused of jumping into an Acura RDX on Friday afternoon and taking off with a 7-year-old boy in the backseat as his parents stood outside of the SUV.
The carjacking happened at 1540 MacDonough Pl., near Pelham Bay Park in Country Club, at 12:20 p.m. The child was soon recovered unharmed at Tillotson Avenue and Wright Avenue near Co-op City.
Sakho, of the Bronx, is charged with robbery, two counts of grand larceny, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and abandonment of a child, police said on Saturday.
This arrest comes as police search for a carjacker who committed a similar crime in Queens on Friday.
The mother of a 4-year-old girl left her asleep in the family’s running red Acura as she went inside a laundromat on 101st Avenue in South Richmond Hill to grab her laundry, police said.
Two men hopped into the car and drove off, but ditched it a few blocks away with the child still in the backseat. They fled in a separate vehicle.
The girl was away from her mother for 20 minutes. EMTs evaluated the child and police combed through the car for evidence after she was found, officials said.
The mother will not be charged. Police continue to search for the two men responsible for the short-lived carjacking.
Authorities say that motorists should never leave a car running or unlocked, regardless of how cold it is or how long they plan to be away from the vehicle, as it tempts thieves.