An armed dad of a family of eight was forced to shoot a man who tried to drive away with his car while his family members were still in the backseat, according to Texas police.
The harrowing incident unfolded on Sunday in the parking lot near Highway 66 and Dairy Road in Garland and was captured by surveillance video.
‘You could definitely tell that he was not in his right state of mind.’
Police said the would-be carjacker crashed his car into two vehicles and tried to gain access to other cars before zeroing in on the white sedan.
Video shows him in a peach shirt walking nonchalantly toward the family’s vehicle before immediately getting into a physical altercation with the father. The two struggle for about a minute before he’s able to force his way into the driver’s seat.
The father runs to the other side of the car and shoots the man still in the car.
The would-be carjacker died at a nearby hospital, and police said they are still trying to identify him.
“You could definitely tell that he was not in his right state of mind,” said Tatiana Starks, a witness who works as the manager of a smoke shop near the incident. “I’m just glad that the man was able to protect himself and his family.”
Starks said she began recording the man after seeing him trying to get into several vehicles.
“He, like, tried to get into several different cars,” she said.
Video of the incident from surveillance and Starks were included in the KDFW-TV news report.
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Police said they do not expect to file charges against the father because he would not have known if the carjacker was armed at the time.
“It seemed to be self-defense,” Lt. Pedro Barineau said to KDFW. “It kind of all happened, like, really fast.”
KDFW reported that police did not recover a weapon from the attempted carjacker, only a gun from the father.
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Carjacker shot and killed, Dad shoots carjacker, Texas armed self-defense, Video of garland shooting, Crime
