An armed citizen fought back against a a trio of armed carjackers in DeKalb County, Georgia last week. 25-year-old Joshua Hamadi was booting an illegally-parked truck in a parking lot when two men in ski masks approached with guns drawn and ordered him out. Big mistake. Hamadi pulled out a.40-caliber GLOCK from his holster and opened fire, shooting one suspect in the hip as the other ran off. The wounded suspect is expected to survive and the legally armed Hamadi will not face charges as a result of the incident.
About a month ago in Nashville, a man was getting into his car parked at the intersection of Lafayette St and Fairfield Avenue when when he was suddenly approached by two teenagers attempting to rob him. The pair grabbed his cell phone and ordered him out of his vehicle. Unfortunately for the suspects, the man happened to be carrying a concealed handgun, which he used to fire one round at each of them. One suspect was shot in the stomach while the other immediately fled. The wounded suspect was arrested and transported to an area hospital. He is expected to survive. Police confirmed the shooter will not be charged, as he acted in self-defense when he opened fire.
An armed citizen at a Macys store parking lot in Utah intervened during an attempted carjacking, shooting and killing the suspect after he lunged at him. The deceased had already stolen a pickup truck earlier after fleeing a fight at a nearby apartment complex. He was on the run from police when he arrived at the Macys parking lot, which is when he tried to carjack a random lady in a Mercedes. Fortunately, a brave concealed carrier was there to make sure that didn’t happen.
A woman in Smyrna, Georgia was vacuuming her car at a local car wash when a red minivan pulled up alongside the vehicle. Four suspect exited the minivan and jumped into the woman’s car, getting behind the wheel and putting it in reverse. The woman jumped on the hood of the car in a desperate bid to prevent the carjacking, but the car sped up, putting her life in danger. That’s when an off-duty worker with a concealed carry handgun drew his weapon, chased after the vehicle and fired one shot through the window, hitting one of the suspects in the shoulder.
22-year-old truck driver Joshua McCann pulled into a shopping center in San Antonio when a man pretending to be a police officer approached him and told him to get out of the truck. McCann complied, and then asked to see the man’s badge. That’s when the suspect told McCann this was a carjacking. Immediately sensing his life was in danger, McCann pulled out his concealed carry handgun and opened fire on the suspect, shooting him three times in the abdomen. He died after being transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Multiple corroborated McCann’s version of events.
It’s a day like any other. After completing your morning routine at home, you hop into your vehicle to start the drive to work. You’re halfway there when that dreaded traffic light you’re always trying to beat turns red. It’s a beautiful, calm morning, and, as you wait for the light to turn green, your mind begins to drift to everything you have on your plate at work that day. Suddenly, you notice movement out of your peripheral vision. You look to your left and see the barrel of a gun staring back at you. Before you can process what’s happening, a man in a mask angrily demands that you get out of the car. You’ve just entered a nightmare scenario for any driver: a carjacking.
There’s a few ways to avoid becoming the victim of a carjacking, including practicing situational awareness, keeping your doors locked and windows rolled up, avoiding isolated or unfamiliar surroundings, and parking in well-lit areas. As the saying goes, however, a gun is the great equalizer. Ripped straight from the headlines, here are five recent cases where an attempted carjacking was stopped by a legally armed citizen.
