LYNNWOOD—Lynnwood Police Chief Cole Langdon released a video message addressing the recent uptick in violent crime, specifically carjackings, in Lynnwood proper and surrounding neighborhoods. Chief Langdon is reminding residents to stay vigilant.

“Most concerned to us and most concerning to you are these situations where we’ve had people taking firearms removing people from their vehicles these are commonly referred to as carjackings,” Langdon said. “While we’ve seen an uptick, something that’s beyond the characteristic what we’ve seen historically in Lynnwood, we do think it’s important that you know that there are things you can do to prevent this crime from happening; to make yourself less likely to be a victim of such an incident. The word I’m going to use is a core value of the Lynnwood Police Department and that is vigilance.

He shared the following three tips to being aware of your surroundings and how to handle to possible threat:

• Keep an eye on your surroundings.
• If you’re driving home and it seems as though someone is following you, get to a public area and call 9-1-1.
• If you see something suspicious, call 9-1-1. Let us come help you.

He clarified to not to be hyper vigilant but simply vigilant.

“While we’re not looking for hyper vigilance, because at that point it starts to intrude into you being able to live a joyful life, we do think it’s important to be vigilant,” Langdon said.

He encourages residents to call 9-1-1 and not engage a person you suspect is following you, it could be a difference of life or death.

“If you’re not quite sure something is normal, there is nothing wrong with calling 911 to seek further assessment from one of our trained professionals,” said Chief Langdon.