Utah Concealed Carrier Defends Carjacking Victim, Fatally Shoots Carjacker
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.04.15
Police in Orem, Utah say they expect no charges against a man who shot and killed an alleged carjacker in a grocery store parking lot on May 2. According to KSL.com, the 31-year-old gun owner was on his way to target shooting when he stopped at the store to purchase food. After he parked, the man heard screaming nearby and saw another man drag a woman from a silver Mercedes SUV, at which point the gun owner rushed to her defense.
“He’s trying to assist this lady whose car is being stolen,” Captain Ned Jackson of the Orem Police Department told KSL.com. “[The suspect] was fighting with her, he was trying to protect her.”
Police say the gun owner held the carjacker at gunpoint and ordered him out of the vehicle. Unexpectedly, the carjacker lunged at him and attempted to wrestle the gun away, and that is when the gun owner fired a single round into the suspect’s chest.
“Our citizen goes up at gunpoint, has him get out of the car. The guy gets out of the car. The suspect lunged and tried to get the gun from him, so at that point he’s trying to protect himself and shoots the gentleman,” Jackson told Fox 6.
Paramedics were called to the scene and transported the injured man to the hospital, where he later died. None of the other people involved in the incident were injured and police have not yet released their identities. Officials confirmed that the man who fired the shot has a concealed carry permit.
Jackson said he anticipates no charges for the gun owner and that the shooting appears to be justified, but also added that the investigation is still ongoing. Police believe the 27-year-old suspect who perished in the alteration was also involved in a crime spree earlier in the day, including assault on another woman and the theft of a vehicle from a home. Jackson confirmed that there were felony warrants out for the carjacker’s arrest, and that police are currently looking for his accomplices.
You can watch interviews with witnesses below:
