A Texan homeowner outsmarted two would-be carjackers who held a gun to his face, leaving the punks bamboozled and the homeowner with a story to tell.
On that friday, Houston police unveiled surveillance footage of the Jan. 25 incident.
In the video, a man is seen throwing away trash in a bin when a hooded youth aims a gun with an extended magazine at him.
“The gun was in my face the whole time,” the homeowner, who chose to remain anonymous, told KRIV-TV.
The video depicts the attempted carjacker asking for the homeowner’s car keys.
“Came up on me with a loaded 9mm gun with an extended clip, probably at least 40 bullets or so. So, you know, they wanted the car,” the homeowner said.
The scheme, albeit vague, disintegrated.
Thief One, who was holding the gun, was unaware that the keys were inside a backpack on the passenger seat. However, his chances of obtaining the keys decreased significantly after Thief Two grabbed the bag and fled. Without the bag, the keys, and ultimately the car, were out of reach for Thief One.
“The kid got out of my car who had the gun, and he took a shot at me and his friend, buddy, accomplice, whatever you want to call him,” the homeowner said.
In the act of fleeing, the potential thief discarded the bag.
“And I continued to chase him up to where I saw him get in the car,” the homeowner said.
The Houston Police Department’s video depicted the departure of the two suspects from the scene, as they got into a blue Chevy Camaro.
The homeowner did not sustain any injuries.
“Usually when they say give me your keys, somebody gives it to them right away, and they’re gone. It didn’t happen that way, so they were bamboozled,” he said.
“They certainly didn’t know what to do. Luckily, it was a bunch of errors, because I probably wouldn’t be talking to you today,” he said.
The timing of the incident was the man’s greatest concern.
“If it was 20 minutes later, you’d have a hundred children that walk by here every day,” he said. “I think what’s most scary. People right now are just willing to do anything at any time.”