Carjacking Crime Spree Ended by Armed Citizen

I do my best to keep up with defensive gun uses that are reported in the media, but every now and then an incident slips through the cracks… usually because any news coverage it does receive is fairly minimal. That was the case with what sounds like a pretty remarkable act by an armed citizen in Hardeeville, South Carolina that recently took place, where police say a suspected carjacker who was enaged in a one-man crime spree tangled with the wrong target.

There’s been virtually no national news coverage of the incident, and even locally it appears the news media hasn’t done any follow-reporting on the original incident, which took place on Sunday, March 23rd. According to authorities, a man who’d been trespassed from a local business earlier in the evening escalated his misbehavior to acts of violence, starting with the attempted carjacking of a delivery driver. 

As they responded to that call, police heard several gunshots nearby. Woodward said the unnamed suspect fired several shots near the Econo Lodge Inn & Suites, but police weren’t sure if he had a specific target in mind. 

The man allegedly attempted another carjacking outside the Friendship Inn & Studios, located at 20750 Whyte Hardee Boulevard. He pointed his firearm at the driver of the car and fired at least once, Woodward said, and the driver fired a number of shots in return. The suspected carjacker was struck by at least three bullets, Woodward said. He was pronounced dead at the scene after Hardeeville officers attempted life-saving measures. 

The driver was initially detained but was later released as police learned more about the incident. Investigators later said the deceased man “was actively involved in attempted armed assaults on potential victims when he encountered an armed citizen who protected himself,” the Hardeeville Police Department said in a Facebook post. Woodward said the homicide remained under investigation, but investigators believed the driver had acted in self-defense.

Oddly, even the Hardeeville PD hasn’t released any more information about the defensive gun use in the eight days since it took place, not even to release the identity of the carjacking suspect who was shot and killed. 

Given the lack of updates I think it’s safe to assume that police haven’t arrested the armed citizen who shot the man trying to carjack him. Even if the suspect hadn’t fired first the gun owner would have been well within their rights to shoot in self-defense so long as the unnamed aggressor had displayed a gun or indicated he was going to inflict violence and physical injury on his intended victim if they didn’t cooperate. 

Hopefully the Hardeeville police will provide some additional information at some point in the near future, even if it’s just to confirm that the armed citizen won’t be facing prosecution for acting in self-defense. It’s a shame this incident didn’t get more coverage from the outset, but maybe after the investigation has concluded the local media will once again pay some attention to what sounds like a compelling story of survival and the Second Amendment.