CHANDLER, AZ — A woman faces serious charges after an alleged armed carjacking of a Hamilton High School student on Tuesday.
Chandler police say around 2:30 p.m., they were called to the area of Arizona Avenue and Ocotillo Road, at the school, for a reported armed carjacking.
The district says the school was temporarily put on lockdown and was lifted after the suspect was identified and police confirmed there was no further threat to the campus.
The suspect, 38-year-old Raven White, was located and taken into custody on Wednesday, police say. According to court documents, White tried to shoplift at a nearby Walmart and was identified through facial recognition.
The student was not hurt during the carjacking. However, the student, who did not want to be identified, is still shaken up.
“I don't feel safe, honestly. Whenever she had taken my car, she took my car keys, my house keys, everything like that, so I felt unsafe being at home. I felt unsafe leaving the house,” she said.
The 17-year-old victim told ABC15 she was picking up her brother when the woman came up to the car.
"When I unlocked the car, the woman had came in my door view. She was standing right there in front of me and she had the gun to my head and said, ‘Get out of the car or I'll shoot you,’” she recounted.
The Chandler Unified School District told ABC15 they have security patrolling parking lots, school resource officers and work closely with Chandler Police on safety matters. They reiterated that this was a random, isolated incident that happened after school.
“It's what they tell you, you know: ‘Don't be scared, that'll never happen to you,' but it's like a nightmare I'm living right now,” the student told us.
The student’s dad had a message for other parents and students:
“Always be aware of your surroundings. Try to always be near people even where it's at places we feel like should be the safest place for our kids,” he said.
White was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, shoplifting, and misconduct involving weapons.
