‘Not in his right state of mind’: Car thief tries to steal car from Texas father while his kids were still inside. It was his last mistake

An attempted carjacking in Texas on May 3 ended in tragedy when a father decided to defend his family by firing 10 rounds at the suspect. An eyewitness who saw the entire incident vouched for the dad and said, “I’m gonna do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”

According to the New York Post, the would-be carjacker was driving along Highway 66 before causing a crash about 20 miles from downtown Dallas. Reportedly, at 3:30 p.m., he seemingly and purposefully slammed into two cars without explanation. He then exited his car and ran to a nearby gas station filled with cars and customers.

Gun violence has been a topic with no real resolution in recent American history, but on rare occasions, a shooter’s actions are seen as justified. According to the Garland Police Department, the would-be carjacker approached a man in a white car who had close family members inside.

Reportedly, the father had several children and two adult women in the car. Video of the attempted carjacking has since been released, and you can clearly see the suspect try to push the father out of his car while his family was still inside. After a brief tussle, the father revealed his gun and shot the man 10 times. Nobody else in the car was harmed; however, the suspected carjacker died from his injuries.

There has been a case involving an Arkansas father who shot a man who kidnapped his daughter, which has been in court for months as authorities try to determine whether that killing was self-defense or vigilantism. This time, however, authorities had no such dilemma.

Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau told the media, “That driver was defending himself and was fighting with that suspect. The car was occupied by several children as well as two other female adults.” Barineau continued, “We are looking at this as a self-defense case. We’re also looking into why this suspect did what he did.”

Another resident, Taylor Standfield, who witnessed the entire incident, said, “I have three kids. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to keep them safe. That kind of stuff is split-second.” He continued, “It’s hard to imagine what it’s even like being in that situation, with the adrenaline and knowing that you have kids in your vehicle.”

Other witnesses shared that the suspect was clearly not in a good state of mind when he approached the father. As police have stated, the investigation is still ongoing as they try to determine exactly what led to the attempted carjacking.

The suspect’s name and identity have not yet been released to the public. All that is currently known is that he was of Hispanic descent. As family members, co-workers, and neighbors are interviewed, more answers may begin to emerge.

As for the man whose only goal was to defend his family, nothing more can be asked of him. As the witness said, when you’re in a position where every decision has only seconds of lead time and the repercussions can last a lifetime, very few people truly know what they would do in such a situation.