A Minneapolis city vehicle was carjacked Tuesday amid a record surge of armed carjackings in the Twin Cities.

A photo taken by a bystander showed the white city vehicle with a heavily damaged front end. It appeared to have crashed into the back of a pickup truck near South Penn and Mount View avenues in Minneapolis' Bryn Mawr neighborhood.

A Minneapolis Regulatory Services employee told police he was sitting in his vehicle prepping when two people told him to get out and hand over his wallet about 2:30 p.m. at North 39th and North Sheridan avenues, according to police spokesman Garrett Parten. The suspects threatened to shoot him if he didn't comply. The victim was not hurt and used his personal cellphone to call police.

With the help of a helicopter, officers then tracked the stolen vehicle by GPS at around 3 p.m. The driver fled from officers.

When the vehicle crashed, the man who was driving was arrested, along with a juvenile, and taken to the hospital for his injuries.

Residents in Minneapolis, St. Paul and increasingly some suburban communities are experiencing a record increase in armed carjackings, crimes that are putting motorists on edge. Minneapolis has recorded nearly 500 this year, according to police. In 2019, the city logged 101 carjackings.

Alex Chhith • 612-673-4759

Correction: Earlier versions of this story misstated how many people were arrested after a Minneapolis city vehicle was carjacked. A man and a juvenile were arrested, according to an update from Minneapolis police. A woman and another juvenile were identified as individuals of interest.