The Carjacking

Date of incident: April 21, 2021

People of Interest:


Baby

Description:

On a cold night, Mom was running errands in Anytown, Ohio with her infant child, Baby. Baby had fallen asleep in her car seat. When Mom pulled up to a self-service gas station to fill up her tank, she left the car running to keep Baby warm. She finished filling the gas tank and while she was facing away from the car, Mom did not notice Carjacker jump into the driver's seat of her car. She turned back toward her car just as Carjacker was driving away. Mom frantically hopped into a nearby car to follow Carjacker. Unbeknownst to Mom, the car was owned by Bystander, who had left his unoccupied vehicle running while he went inside the gas station to buy coffee.

Because Mom's phone was in her purse in her car, she used Bystander's cell phone to call 911. She reported the carjacking and kept the dispatcher informed of Carjacker's whereabouts as she pursued him. While trying to keep up with Carjacker as he sped along rural roads in the dark, Mom struck several roadside mailboxes causing significant damage to the body of Bystander's car. When Carjacker parked the car and went inside another convenience store, Mom advised the 911 dispatcher, who told Mom to stay in the car and wait for police to arrive.

From left to right: Carjacker, Bystander, Mom


However, Mom was not willing to sit and wait while Baby was in danger. She did not have another set of car keys with her, so she could not drive off in her car with Baby. But she discovered that Carjacker had not locked the car doors. First, she opened the front passenger and grabbed the loaded handgun that she kept in her glove box. As she was climbing into the backseat to remove Baby, she saw Carjacker walking toward her car. Mom jumped out of the car and pointed her handgun at Carjacker. She told him to stay away from her car and toss her the keys or she would shoot him. Carjacker simply laughed at Mom and continued walking toward her car. As Carjacker got closer, Mom pleaded, "Okay, take my car. But let me get Baby out of the back seat." Carjacker again laughed and said, "Lady, that's the reason I took your car. I can get good money for that kid."

Mom again warned Carjacker to stay away from the car, but he continued laughing and walking toward the car. As he reached for the driver's side door, Mom fired her handgun, striking Carjacker in the knee. Carjacker fell to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain (and no longer laughing). To ensure Carjacker could not flee before the police arrived, Mom stood over him with her gun pointed at his head. "What kind of sicko would steal and sell a baby? I should shoot you a few more times and let you die in terrible pain." Mom continued to threaten to kill Carjacker until the police arrived 10 minutes later. Carjacker eventually fully recovered from his physical injuries. Carjacker was later diagnosed with PTSD, which the doctors attributed to his run-in with Mom. Carjacker had filed an intentional tort action against Mom. Bystander got his car and cell phone back, but was unable to recover from his or Mom's insurers for the damages to his car. He filed and intentional tort action against Mom.

Crimes Committed: