ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO — Anyone who has a sibling knows that sibling fights can get nasty. This person, however, took things to the next level. After physically kicking his sister out the door of his car, he dragged her down the street. A bystander witnessed this entire thing and made the decision to step in and try to stop it.
According to a news release issued by the Roswell Police Department, an investigation of the incident that occurred at about 11 a.m. at the Saddle Creek Apartments on South Sunset Avenue determined that Porfirio Barraza, 35, of Roswell was in the passenger seat of a car driven by his sister when he kicked her, forcing her out of her seat.
Via Roswell Daily Record
“He then began driving the car, which was dragging his sister, as it headed at the male witness, who fired his gun numerous times at the car in an attempt to protect himself and the woman,” the news release states.
Police state that Barraza drove away after the incident but was soon located at a local hospital seeking treatment for his gunshot wounds.
Barraza has been charged with robbery and two counts of aggravated assault. Roswell Police stated that he will be arrested soon. No charges related to this incident are expected to be filed against the man who fired the shots.
From the report, it sounds as though while driving, the brother literally kicked his sister to the point that he pushed her off the passenger seat. From here she is partly in the road and holding on for dear life. Instead of stopping and letting his sister get up, he just kept driving; dragging the poor girl along the road.
It also sounds like he was driving wildly, probably trying to maximize the dragging damage being done to his sister. A bystander, who was watching all this unfold sees the car barreling towards him, now putting his life in danger. That bystander was armed. Rather than just jump out of the way and let the woman continued to get dragged, he put a stop to the madness.
Several well-placed shots appear to have hit their intended target. The report doesn’t state how the sister became detached from the car, but once she was, her brother sped off. The brother later went to the hospital to be treated for his gunshot wounds. Police arrested him there.
After an initial investigation, police are not charging the armed citizen with any crime. The shooting is considered an act of self defense. The sister was treated for minor wounds and released from the hospital.
This seems like a tough call for the armed bystander. For one, shooting at a target inside a moving vehicle is not easy. This being a public area, with presumably other bystanders, the risk of hitting something unintentionally is greatly increased. It seems as though the shooter had a lot of confidence in his ability, and it paid off.
What would you have done? Would you have stepped in to try and help the girl by shooting at the driver in public?