FORTH WORTH, TEXAS — A man, who happened to be armed, witnessed a carjacking in progress and made the decision to intervene.
That man left the suspect with gunshot wounds to his arm and abdomen.
The crime happened around 7 a.m. at a gas station in the 3900 block of East Lancaster Avenue. Police said an armed man walked up to Joanna Avalos in the parking lot and demanded her vehicle with her two young kids inside.
“He pulled out the gun and said, ‘Get out of your car! I’m taking your car!’” Joanna recalled.
Joanna had her 11-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son in the black Tahoe with her.
Her son, Edwin, saw the man pull the gun.
“It was like a cowboy gun with the spinning wheel,” the young boy said. “A revolver.”
Joanna says the criminal fumbled with the keys. When he couldn’t get the SUV started, he ran after her.
“He pulled me and threw me on the floor and said, ‘Give me the [expletive] keys!’ Pointed the gun at me. I’m like, ‘There’s two sets of keys!’” she recalled.
Shortly after, the woman and her children are seen on video running to the store and one of the employees pulling them inside.
They locked the door, and another employee made the decision to run after the bad guy. This employee, armed with his gun, took matters into his own hands to make sure that the armed man — still a threat — would not be getting away.
Avalos says another clerk ran after the carjacker with a gun and shot him after the robber fired at him. Police say the suspect, Courtney Johnson, led officers on a short chase in the stolen SUV before crashing into a couple of parked cars. He had gunshot wounds to his arm and abdomen when he was arrested.
Running after a suspect who is known to be armed is a ballsy move, but this employee took the chance and faced this criminal head-on.
That’s a choice that is made in the heat of the moment, and I’m not sure I would have done the same thing. Staying inside the locked store is a far safer place than running after a bad guy with a gun. In any event, police were able to apprehend Johnson and take him into custody.
