Texas dad shoots, kills man who tried to steal his car with wife, children inside

A Texas father fatally shot a man who attempted to carjack his vehicle while his wife and young children were inside.

The incident occurred Sunday afternoon in Garland, Texas, after a driver crashed into two vehicles around 3:30 pm and then fled to a nearby gas station, where he allegedly attempted to take multiple vehicles by force, according to the Garland Police Department.

According to Fox 4, surveillance footage showed the suspect approaching a white Chevrolet Impala parked in a shopping center lot. The man reportedly approached the driver’s side door, prompting the father to exit the vehicle.

The father, whose car was occupied by several young children and two adult women, confronted the suspect after the alleged carjacker attempted to pull him away from the vehicle. A struggle followed as a young boy and the rest of the family fled from the car.

Police said the father then “produced a firearm” and fired over 10 rounds at the would-be carjacker.

The suspect was transported to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Authorities have not yet identified the suspect, describing him as a Hispanic male.

No member of the family was injured in the incident, and the father was fully cooperative with investigators, handing over his firearm as part of the investigation. Police are not expecting to file charges against him.

“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,” Lt. Pedro Barineau told NBCDFW. “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.” 

“We are looking at this as a self-defense case. We’re also looking into why this suspect did what he did,” he added.