What to do if you witness a carjacking?

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  • PlinKing2392

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    Jul 3, 2011
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    I need some opinions from my fellow carriers.

    You are with you significant other driving back home later in the night after a get-together with some friends. Your significant other is driving for whatever reason (you drank a few more than you feel comfortable driving after, they are a better driver at night, take your pick). You are pulling up to a light and you see two vehicles stopped at the cross street to your right. From your passenger seat vantage point, you see what appears to be an accident with the trailing car (again, both stopped at the light) practically touching the bumper of the lead car. You see two individuals exit the trailing car and approach the driver's side of the lead... This is where it turns sketchy.

    Instead of exchanging insurance information or even yelling at each other, you see the two males from the trail car open the driver's door and forcefully remove the female from the lead car. She resists as much as possible, but she is up against the force of two larger men. Your significant other sees the same thing and asks what to do...

    My question is, what do you do? I know what I did. I know what I had my wife do. I'll post the end results down below if you want to read the conclusion before or after answering.












    My wife was the one with the clear head on this one... After I had her block the lead car from leaving (now containing the two males that forcibly removed the female), I was ready to engage with what I thought were two hostile criminals. In the tense moment, the mind of a counselor stayed strong. She asked me to be sure that the female was safe before we did anything further. My focus was, of course, on the potential threat(s), but her's was on the most important factor in this scenario, the victim's safety. Once she said this, I checked the area and realized that she was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, she barrels out of the trail car and slams, what we believe to be, her purse on the roof of the lead car and voluntarily storms back to the trail car. Once we realized that she was safe, and that there was probably much more to the story than what we experienced for a few nerve racking, adrenaline filled seconds, we left the scene. In that moment, she was safe. She was obviously upset with one of the two men that pulled her from her original vehicle, but her life was no longer in danger. Ultimately, we left the scene with no shots fired, no injuries to man or machine, and we stayed up for several hours after to thoroughly discuss the situation.
     

    Concerned Citizen

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    Let's say the woman was thrown to the ground and her car took off. My first thing would be to check for her safety, then ask if she had any kids in the car. If no kids, wait with her until the LEO shows up and be a witness. If yes kids still in car, make hot pursuit, but maintain distance while guiding police in apprehension.

    If she was thrown from car, and attackers had not left scene yet, I would approach cautiously, and see if she was alright. If she's OK, and no kids in car, I would probably grab her and help her to a safe distance and call police. No reason to fire shots over somebody's stolen car. Sure, maybe Indiana law will allow you to use deadly force to stop a felony in progress, but that one, in my mind, does not warrant it.

    New scenario: I walk out of a gas station and somebody is starting to pull away in MY Excursion, whole new game. Would I shoot at them? NO. If I was able to safely, I just might shoot my own tires to disable my vehicle to prevent theft. Once they exited the vehicle, as long as they were running away and not a threat to my life, I'd let them go.
     

    jake blue

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    I think I'm of the same mindset as CC - protection of life is first priority, protection of property is second. No one's life is worth less than the car being stolen. I'm not even sure I would pursue them though because as soon as you report kids in the stolen car they'll have every LEO in the state looking for them and any risks or liabilities resulting from a high speed pursuit are NOT protected. The carjacking victim being safe.
     

    SteveM4A1

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    Sep 3, 2013
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    Let's say the woman was thrown to the ground and her car took off. My first thing would be to check for her safety, then ask if she had any kids in the car. If no kids, wait with her until the LEO shows up and be a witness. If yes kids still in car, make hot pursuit, but maintain distance while guiding police in apprehension.

    If she was thrown from car, and attackers had not left scene yet, I would approach cautiously, and see if she was alright. If she's OK, and no kids in car, I would probably grab her and help her to a safe distance and call police. No reason to fire shots over somebody's stolen car. Sure, maybe Indiana law will allow you to use deadly force to stop a felony in progress, but that one, in my mind, does not warrant it.

    New scenario: I walk out of a gas station and somebody is starting to pull away in MY Excursion, whole new game. Would I shoot at them? NO. If I was able to safely, I just might shoot my own tires to disable my vehicle to prevent theft. Once they exited the vehicle, as long as they were running away and not a threat to my life, I'd let them go.
    I agree 100%.
     

    singlesix

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    May 13, 2008
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    New scenario: I walk out of a gas station and somebody is starting to pull away in MY Excursion, whole new game. Would I shoot at them? NO. If I was able to safely, I just might shoot my own tires to disable my vehicle to prevent theft. Once they exited the vehicle, as long as they were running away and not a threat to my life, I'd let them go.

    Watched one too many cop show on TV.
     
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    netsecurity

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    Shoot everyone in the leg, and then keep them at gunpoint until police arrive to figure out what is happening. Also, shoot tires and headlights on all cars, even your own. Then shoot your own legs if necessary.

    :)
     

    92ThoStro

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    If you shoot your tires, that wont stop them from getting away LOL. Excursions IIRC are those big gas guzzling V10s that got discontinued because they average like 6mpg... you shoot the tire, and it will drive away just fine if you give it a little gas, you will just end up paying for new tires, wheels, and whatever damage is caused to the hub and axle lol. Most stolen cars are driven and dropped on the highway. Or chopped up :D My uncles car was not even damaged at all, just ran until empty, and ditched. And it was a toyota. Your excursion will make it a few blocks before running out of gas!

    If they were up against the front car I would have got up against their rear bumper too, and then made sure the woman was okay. It seems strange that she would be angry and hit their car instead of getting on the phone and calling the police. I wonder if they knew each other. What happened to the men, did you draw your weapon? Why no police? I was initially thinking if it was a car accident, maybe they pulled her out of the car? I know we had to do that before, because we thought the car was going to burn. But the guy was all groggy;/drunk and dead weight, no resisting either. But you said they put her in their car? Like kidnapping her? Should probably have called the police.....

    On the note of pursuing a kidnapper, anyone watch The Call?
     
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    Amishman44

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    Dec 30, 2009
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    In Fort Wayne, a few years ago, a teacher witnessed a guy attacking a woman along side the road and tried to help her...and was shot and killed for his actions by the estranged husband (if I remember correctly, I think the woman got shot too...)!

    Yes, citizens can get involved and (sometimes) stop a crime in progress and potentially save someone's life! The odds (I believe) however, are much more in favor of you getting involved in a situation that can end up going bad and be much worse than just witnessing a crime!

    I don't think there's any 'right or wrong' answers...but until one faces a similar situation, one cannot accurately describe how they would react or what they would do!
     

    Concerned Citizen

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    If you shoot your tires, that wont stop them from getting away LOL. Excursions IIRC are those big gas guzzling V10s that got discontinued because they average like 6mpg... you shoot the tire, and it will drive away just fine if you give it a little gas, you will just end up paying for new tires, wheels, and whatever damage is caused to the hub and axle lol. Most stolen cars are driven and dropped on the highway. Or chopped up :D My uncles car was not even damaged at all, just ran until empty, and ditched. And it was a toyota. Your excursion will make it a few blocks before running out of gas!

    If they were up against the front car I would have got up against their rear bumper too, and then made sure the woman was okay. It seems strange that she would be angry and hit their car instead of getting on the phone and calling the police. I wonder if they knew each other. What happened to the men, did you draw your weapon? Why no police? I was initially thinking if it was a car accident, maybe they pulled her out of the car? I know we had to do that before, because we thought the car was going to burn. But the guy was all groggy;/drunk and dead weight, no resisting either. But you said they put her in their car? Like kidnapping her? Should probably have called the police.....

    On the note of pursuing a kidnapper, anyone watch The Call?
    First, my Excursion is a 6.0 diesel, and with the mods and upgrades, I get 17 mpg in the city. :rockwoot:

    Second, I'm pretty sure that woman knew the people in both cars.
     

    tj_v89

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    Dec 1, 2011
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    Shoot everyone in the leg, and then keep them at gunpoint until police arrive to figure out what is happening. Also, shoot tires and headlights on all cars, even your own. Then shoot your own legs if necessary.

    :)

    This to a T...you might even try shooting your own legs twice.
     

    cosermann

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    Aug 15, 2008
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    ... you see what appears to be an accident ... This is where it turns sketchy.

    I was ready to engage with what I thought were two hostile criminals. ... there was probably much more to the story than what we experienced ...

    It's often difficult to determine exactly what's going on if/when you come upon a situation in which you weren't involved from the beginning, don't know the players, etc. Note the emphasized language in the OP reflecting this.

    Just be aware of the risks ( see - Commentary by Evan Marshall ) and exercise caution.
     

    Concerned Citizen

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    Ok, I have rethought my plan of attack. If shooting the tires will not disable my Excursion, as they're pulling away, I would place two well placed shots into the gas tank. It will explode into a fiery ball like on Miami Vice, serving justice on the Perps.

    If I can't have it, no one can!
     

    Concerned Citizen

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    Sep 1, 2010
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    It's often difficult to determine exactly what's going on if/when you come upon a situation in which you weren't involved from the beginning, don't know the players, etc. Note the emphasized language in the OP reflecting this.

    Just be aware of the risks ( see - Commentary by Evan Marshall ) and exercise caution.

    That is an excellent article. Everyone here should read it.
     

    singlesix

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    May 13, 2008
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    Ok, I have rethought my plan of attack. If shooting the tires will not disable my Excursion, as they're pulling away, I would place two well placed shots into the gas tank. It will explode into a fiery ball like on Miami Vice, serving justice on the Perps.

    If I can't have it, no one can!

    Yup, this is why every third round in my CLIP is a tracer, well until I can get hold of those magic exploring bullets the antis always talk about.
     

    indiucky

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    Shoot everyone in the leg, and then keep them at gunpoint until police arrive to figure out what is happening. Also, shoot tires and headlights on all cars, even your own. Then shoot your own legs if necessary.

    :)

    And folks wonder why I carry a five shot revolver........:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

    But seriously I would look at my wife and say "Can we run through White Castle?"

    As Papaw would say, "I ain't got a dog in that hunt."
     
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    Compatriot G

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    This reminds me of an article I read in "Guns & Ammo" about 30 years ago, when I was a teenager. I don't remember the author, but it may have been Mas Ayoob. I believe the incident took place sometime in the late 70's. A truck driver was driving through NYC. He witnessed a man struggling with a woman and the man was trying to put her in the back of a vehicle. The truck driver stopped his semi and jumped out with a 1911. He pointed his pistol at the man and told him to stop. The man stopped and the woman ran away. Here is where it gets interesting. The man was an undercover NYPD Vice officer. The woman was a prostitute that was resisting arrest. I forget how many years the truck driver received after he was convicted in court.
     

    Borock

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    Mar 23, 2012
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    I would probably:

    1-call 911 and give short description of what you are witnessing and the location.
    2-keep yourself safe and behind cover just in case they decide to get you involved (getting closer to "pin them in" probably isn't smart and it gets you closer to potential danger.
    3-leave your cover to help only if you're sure there are no weapons (except yours).
    4-everything after the first few moments are completely up in the air because so much can happen in a short time, but keeping yourself safe and helping the weak/victim(s) as much as you can without putting yourself in danger is the best you can do. If you're not safe, you can't help anyone.
     

    PlinKing2392

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    Great feedback everybody. Just to clarify, and after discussing it with the wife, the female "victim" appeared to know the men that pulled her from the vehicle. She voluntarily returned to the 2nd vehicle. Borock, I agree that pulling up to block their path was a bad move. In the heat of the moment, that was the first thought that came to mind. If it was a kidnapping situation, I didn't want them getting too far, and if our vehicle had to go to the shop afterword, than so be it.
     
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