NC Driver Turns the Tables on Armed Carjacker
An attempted carjacking in Philadelphia took an abrupt turn Monday when police say the gunman opened fire on his intended victim — only to discover that the driver was armed, too.
According to Philadelphia police, the suspect approached the driver of a blue Volvo and brandished a handgun during an attempted carjacking. The confrontation then escalated into an exchange of gunfire.
The would-be carjacker fired first, striking and wounding the driver, according to NBC 10.
But the wounded driver didn't simply surrender his vehicle.
Police said he pulled out his own handgun and returned fire at the attacker.
The suspect fled the scene following the shootout and remained at large. Authorities have not determined whether he was hit by any of the driver's shots.
The Volvo driver was taken to a local hospital and listed in stable condition.
The circumstances surrounding the driver's possession of the firearm were not immediately detailed in the report, but the shooting comes as Philadelphia's handling of concealed-carry licenses is already under federal scrutiny.
Pennsylvania operates under a “shall issue” licensing system, meaning authorities are generally required to issue licenses to applicants who meet the qualifications established under state law.
Philadelphia once occupied a different position under Pennsylvania's firearms laws. That changed with Act 17 of 1995, which ended the city's ability to maintain greater discretion over the issuance of carry licenses and brought it under the statewide “shall issue” framework.
More than three decades later, the Justice Department is investigating how the Philadelphia Police Department administers those licenses.
The Second Amendment Section of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division announced the investigation in June.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon outlined the inquiry in a June 9 letter to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker.
“The investigation will evaluate the PPD’s policies and practices regarding issuance and revocation of licenses to carry firearms and the PPD’s enforcement of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act of 1995,” Dhillon wrote.
The Justice Department said the investigation is being conducted under the Police Pattern or Practice Act, 34 U.S.C. § 12601. The inquiry concerns allegations involving the police department's administration and revocation of licenses to carry firearms.
The federal investigation and Monday's shooting are separate matters, and police have not indicated that the driver's permit status played any role in the attempted carjacking.
What authorities have described about the confrontation itself is considerably more straightforward.
An armed suspect allegedly tried to take a man's Volvo. The suspect shot the driver. The wounded driver then produced his own firearm and shot back.
That return fire apparently brought the attempted carjacking to an end, with the suspect fleeing instead of leaving in the Volvo.
Police are now searching for the would-be carjacker while investigators work to determine whether the driver's rounds struck him.
The intended victim, meanwhile, survived the encounter and was reported in stable condition — after an attempted carjacking became a gunfight the alleged attacker apparently wasn't expecting.