Police investigating carjackings in Atlanta

ATLANTA - A Buckhead grandmother said she was terrified when a gunmen carjacked her at Lenox Square Mall.

Anita Thomas said she had two of her granddaughters in the car who were visiting from out of town.

The 70-year-old grandmother said the gunmen came out of nowhere and demanded the keys to her 2015 Mercedes S550.

“When we got out of the car and I saw him approach me with the gun, I told the girls to run. Honestly, it was my granddaughters that I was terrified for. I wanted to say, shoot me, don't take them," Thomas said.

Thomas' car had a tracking device and was found hours later in southwest Atlanta.

Atlanta police detectives worked two carjackings Monday. A second one occurred Monday night in the OK Cafe parking lot at West Paces Ferry Road and Northside Parkway.

Lt. Jeff Hansal said the violent crimes are sporadic and have no pattern to them. Police are looking at whether the two carjackings are related, but said there is nothing really connecting the two.

Police have not made any arrests in Thomas' case.

For an indefinite period of time, Atlanta police said they are deploying squads of officers inside some of the most popular shopping areas like Lenox Mall.

In all, there have been a half dozen robberies in the Buckhead area over the past week. Investigators suspect the uptick in robberies coincides with school being out for the summer. Some juveniles have already been identified for some of the crimes, including one teen who is 15-years-old.

There are some things citizens can do to lessen their chances of becoming a victim. Police said try to park in an open area not far from an entrance instead of going into a deck. They also say you should secure your car and take your keys. In one of the recent cases, a motorist went into a gas station for just a second and left her keys in the ignition.

Scroll through the slideshow for more videos