A Texas father shot and killed a frantic would-be carjacker after the suspect allegedly tried driving off with several of the man’s family members still sitting inside the vehicle.
The violent confrontation occurred last Sunday in Garland and was captured on surveillance footage and cellphone video recorded by witnesses.
Police said the suspected carjacker had already slammed his own vehicle into two other cars before darting through the parking lot searching for another ride.
Investigators said the man then began yanking on door handles and approaching occupied vehicles before targeting a white sedan carrying members of a family of eight.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed the suspect casually walking toward the vehicle seconds before the terrifying attack began.
The man immediately got into a physical struggle with the father beside the car, according to police.
Video showed the pair wrestling outside the sedan for nearly a minute before the suspect managed to climb into the driver’s seat.
Several members of the family were still inside the vehicle during the confrontation.
The father sprinted around the car as the suspect attempted to take control of the sedan.
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Seconds later, the father opened fire while the alleged carjacker remained behind the wheel.
The suspect was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
Garland police said investigators are still working to identify him.
Witnesses who watched the confrontation unfold described the suspect as erratic and unstable.
“You could definitely tell that he was not in his right state of mind,” smoke shop manager Tatiana Starks said.
“I’m just glad that the man was able to protect himself and his family.”
Starks said the man appeared desperate before the shooting and moved aggressively from car to car through the parking lot.
“He, like, tried to get into several different cars,” she recalled.
The witness also began recording the suspect after noticing his unusual behavior.
Police later reviewed both surveillance footage and cellphone video captured during the incident.
Investigators said the footage appeared to support the father’s self-defense claim.
Lt. Pedro Barineau told KDFW-TV the confrontation escalated rapidly.
“It seemed to be self-defense,” Barineau commented. “It kind of all happened, like, really fast.”
Authorities said they do not currently expect the father to face criminal charges.
Investigators also noted the father would not have known whether the suspect was armed while the struggle unfolded.
Police later recovered a firearm belonging to the father but said no weapon was found on the suspected carjacker.
The Garland shooting is the latest in a series of violent carjacking confrontations reported around the country in recent months.
In Yonkers, New York, an off-duty state trooper shot a 17-year-old suspect accused of trying to steal her vehicle at knifepoint outside a Mobil gas station.
Police said the encounter began around 12:45 p.m. Sunday after the trooper finished refueling her vehicle at the station on Kimball Avenue.
Investigators said the suspect suddenly approached the woman, displayed a knife and jumped into the driver’s seat of her vehicle.
The trooper, though off duty at the time, was carrying her firearm. Authorities said she immediately responded by firing one shot.
Police said the bullet struck the suspect in the left arm before continuing into his torso.
The wounded teen then accelerated across the gas station property, barreled through a fence and shed, and finally abandoned the vehicle near a nearby apartment complex.
Yonkers officers tracked the suspect down moments later near Midland Avenue and arrested him without further incident.
Investigators said officers recovered a knife during the arrest.
Medical crews treated the suspect at the scene before transporting him to a nearby hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Police identified the suspect as a 17-year-old Yonkers resident.
He now faces several charges, including robbery in the first, second and third degree, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree menacing.
The Yonkers Police Department’s Major Case Squad is handling the criminal investigation while New York State Police conducts an internal review of the shooting.
Authorities said the trooper suffered only minor injuries during the confrontation.
Officials identified her as a 12-year veteran assigned to Troop NYC.
Elsewhere in Florida earlier this year, an 18-year-old accused carjacker allegedly told a woman he needed her vehicle so he could visit his grandmother.
Orange County investigators said Kenneth Shears approached the woman while she sat inside her parked car and pointed a gun at her.
The victim later told FOX35 Orlando she initially believed the encounter was some kind of prank.
“I am sorry to be doing this, but I need to see my grandmother,” Shears allegedly told her.
The woman said she attempted to talk the suspect out of taking the vehicle and even offered him a ride.
“He looked like something was wrong,” she later said.
“If he was robbing me, he could’ve taken all my jewelry.”
Authorities said Shears instead drove off in the vehicle before deputies located him and initiated a short pursuit.
The chase ended when the suspect crashed into another parked car, destroying both vehicles.
Deputies later arrested Shears and charged him with carjacking with a firearm along with several additional offenses.
