Watch: Armed with Soup Container, Quick-Thinking Man Thwarts Would-Be Car Thieves
It was bright and sunny in New Orleans on Dec. 25 when a man, apparently filled with the Christmas spirit, decided to drop off a tasty present for a neighbor, WDSU-TV reported.
Unfortunately, his attempt to deliver a container of soup as a holiday kindness turned into a wild battle with a carjacker.
Video from a front-door camera shows the unidentified man, who was wearing a suit, pull up in front of the residence in a red SUV and walk through the gate and up the steps carrying his gift of gumbo.
According to WDSU, he expected it would be just a quick stop and a warm greeting and thus left his engine running.
Unfortunately, some would-be thieves in a silver SUV saw that as an opportunity.
Their vehicle pulled up next to the red SUV, and a man in the back seat quickly and stealthily opened the door. He stayed low and crept over to the red SUV, sliding behind the wheel and shutting the door.
By this time, the man with the soup had turned and saw what was happening.
He bolted from the porch to the car and stood in its path as lurched toward him.
The owner of the SUV then threw the soup container at the car.
His action apparently stunned the thief, who stopped, and the owner ran around the front of the car and threw himself on the hood again.
The owner man then climbed onto the hood, scrambled up to the sunroof and thrust himself halfway in as the car started to move again.
He then began to wrestle the thief and pulled his jacket off him.
Apparently, the thief decided he’d had enough and finally got out of the car. He jumped into the silver SUV, and the thwarted car thieves fled the scene.
More than 4,000 cars were stolen in New Orleans in 2022, according to a police statement reported by WDSU.
The New Orleans Police Department said some Kia or Hyundai models were targeted amid a social media trend pointing out that they lacked anti-theft devices and providing instructions on how to steal them.
Security expert Mike Cahn, a former NOPD commander, acknowledged that people in the city are frustrated but said what the owner of the red SUV did was extremely dangerous.
“It’s dangerous for you and everyone else involved,” Cahn told WDSU. “In this situation, get as much information as you can, try and get a good description of the perpetrators and let them go. Again, it’s property — it can be replaced.”
The owner of the red SUV released a statement to the station:
“I was nearly run over twice and reacted on instinct to protect myself and my property. What would you do in this situation? In hindsight, there were better decisions I could have made, but I am fed up with crime in our city. We expect our police and municipal leaders to do what is necessary to protect its citizens.”
Thankfully, he was unharmed.
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