Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
A would-be carjackers is in a Philadelphia hospital and headed to police custody if he recovers from his injuries after he was shot by his intended victim on Saturday night.
According to Philly police, the attempted carjacking took place in the city’s Kensington neighborhood, which has long been home to some of Philadelphia’s highest crime rates. This particular incident, however, didn’t turn out like the suspect planned.
Police say the suspect approached the victim who was sitting in a vehicle.
The victim fired a gun through the windshield, shattering the vehicle’s glass and hitting the suspect in the chest.
Police say the suspect then ran to Frankford Avenue and East Palmer Street where he collapsed.
The suspect was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
There’s still a lot of unknown information, including whether or not the target of the carjacking was legally armed, but it sounds like the only one injured in the incident was the carjacking suspect.
Sadly, carjackings are at an all-time high in Philadelphia right now, with the city recording well over 1,300 incidents last year. That’s a more than 500% increase since 2019, and many of these incidents are ending with victims being hurt or killed.
Just after 9:30 a.m on March 22, Rasheen Naseeb Robinson pulled his car into the Liberty gas station in East Kensington and stopped in its convenience store. When Robinson, 22, headed back to his car, a gunman shot him five times, including once in the head. Minutes later he died.
On Aug. 14, 2021, at about 5 a.m., Alexander Vincent Ott, 29, stopped at the Gulf station in Wynnefield, a leafy neighborhood just inside the city’s western border. Ott wanted to gas up before completing the half-hour drive to his girlfriend’s home in the city’s Northeast section, his mother said. But while Ott was standing at the pump, a gunman shot him multiple times in the back, killing him instantly.
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The police are trying to figure out what’s behind the surge. What they know so far: It’s not isolated to any specific neighborhood. In the meantime, they’re advising motorists to be on guard when driving onto a station lot. They should be cautious of people loitering around pumps.
“If you’re looking to carjack somebody, it’s much easier to get somebody that’s getting gas, standing right outside their car with their wallet and keys in their hands,” Layton said, “than it would be to yank somebody out of their car at a red light or stop sign.”
Situational awareness is always a good thing, but you also need a plan if you are the target of a carjacker. If it’s possible to get away that’s going to be the best course of action, but unfortunately that won’t always be an option. You need to be able to protect yourself if you can’t mash the gas pedal and escape from a potentially deadly encounter, and that means not only being armed in self-defense, but being proficient and competent enough with your firearm that you don’t pose more of a danger to yourself or others than the would-be carjacker or carjackers.
Based on the preliminary reporting on this thwarted carjacking in Philadelphia, it seems like that was the case here. We’ll keep our eyes out for any updates and bring them to you once their available.
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2023/01/29/philly-carjacker-shot-by-intended-victim-n66712