A Toronto woman is urging others to stay vigilant after an attempted broad daylight carjacking in the downtown core over the weekend.
Content creator Serena Thompson pulled over at Queen and Portland streets to park in a Green P area as she headed to a nearby appointment, she explained in a TikTok video.
Since she was early, Thompson decided to finish up some editing work in her car. Just moments later, there was a startling knock on her window, and she looked up to see two men demanding for her to roll her window down.
Feeling skeptical, she says she only lowered it slightly, just to hear their request. The men then asked Thompson for a car tire lug nut, claiming to have a flat tire and desperately needed her to lend them one from the back of her car.
At this point, Thompson describes the men as becoming “aggressive” in response to her reluctance to get out of her car, and eventually they storm off. She notes that the men continued to walk for a while, never actually witnessing them get into a car.
Soon after, she sees another man strangely hanging around her car. Feeling unsafe as the man gets into a car behind her, Thompson pulls off, but not before the man pulls off closely behind her in a possible attempt to rear-end her. It’s at this moment that she realizes that the men are trying to steal her vehicle.
Thompson quickly fled from the danger, and hopped on TikTok to tell the tale, warning other drivers, especially women, to be cautious.
“Be suspicious,” she urged in the video.
“They’re trying to steal your car from you because you’re a little girl who can’t do anything about it,” she added.
She also insisted that she will not be parking on the street from here on, and will instead opt for parking areas with surveillance cameras.
“That is never happening to me again,” she said.
While auto thefts have decreased by nearly 41 per cent in 2025, carjackings are on the rise. According to Toronto Police Services (TPS), there have been three more carjackings this year so far compared to the same time in 2024, for a total of 92. Additionally, Land Rover Range Rover Series vehicles like the one Thompson was driving are listed among the Équité Association’s top ten most stolen vehicles.
TPS says its unfamiliar with the technique of asking for a missing car part, but the rear-ending method is a commonly known tactic used by carjackers to lure drivers out of their cars. Police assured Thompson’s actions in the TikTok video are an example of exactly what to do in a carjacking attempt.
“If you’re ever rear-ended and see multiple individuals—often wearing masks—exiting their vehicle and approaching yours, follow the example of the woman in the video: stay in your vehicle, leave the scene immediately, and contact the police,” a TPS spokesperson told Now Toronto on Monday.
“If the collision was genuine and not part of a carjacking attempt, the other driver can follow you to a collision reporting centre or a police station, where you can safely exchange information,” they added, urging that if drivers ever feel unsafe, to call police.
