Houston police have released footage of an attempted carjacking gone catastrophically awry after a clumsy thief accidentally made off with the car key.
Video, released Friday, captured the moment one of the two thieves ran off on foot with a backpack containing the key to the Jeep they were trying to steal, preventing the other from starting the car.
As the owner of the Jeep chased after the thief who took his backpack, the other who was trying to start the car gave up and fired his pistol. Hearing the shots, the robber with the backpack dropped it, allowing the owner to retrieve the bag and its contents.
The two robbers were stopped in a blue Chevrolet Camaro driven by a third suspect, but all three left empty-handed, according to the Houston Police Department.
The Houston Police Department has released surveillance footage of a carjacking gone wrong after one of the two thieves makes off with the car keys.
The keys to the Jeep the two were trying to steal were in a backpack (pictured) that one got away with but eventually fell off, allowing the victim to retrieve all of his items.
The attempted carjacking occurred one January afternoon after the victim believed he was followed to his home in the Newcastle neighborhood of Houston. She said they had seen and followed him from a nearby gas station.
The owner described the experience to Fox 26 Houston, but said he did not want to be named.
‘He came up to me with a loaded 9mm pistol with an extended magazine, at least 40 rounds or so. They wanted the car,” he said. “I yelled give me your keys, I kept my hands up, I tried to stay as calm as possible.”
Video shows the man was putting something in an outdoor wheeled trash can next to his garage when the armed assailant struck him in the shoulder and pointed the single-handed pistol at him.
“The gun was in my face the whole time,” he said.
He said that when they asked him where the keys were, he told them truthfully that they were in a bag on the passenger seat of the car.
The gunman and his co-conspirator then entered the garage. The gunman approached the driver’s side as he engaged in an exchange with the owner.
Meanwhile, the other one approaches from the passenger side and grabs the backpack on the seat before running off with it in his hands.
The panicked homeowner then seems to be conflicted between going after the thief who took his backpack and keeping his eyes on the gunman who was in his car, but ultimately decides to give chase.
Houston police are requesting information on the two robbers, who were wearing tracksuits and had the lower half of their faces hidden. A third suspect was driving a blue Chevrolet Camaro with which they fled.
The homeowner chased the man who stole his backpack. The other robber shot both of them, causing the man with the bag to drop it.
Both thieves fled on foot before finally catching up to a blue Camaro who let them into the car and drove off. You can see the thief who had the backpack running through the grass on the sidewalk in this image
Once the gunman realized he couldn’t start the car, he abandoned the project and ran off in the same direction as the other two. As he did so, he fired, surprising the robber with the backpack, who then fell to the ground as he kept running.
‘The complainant started running after the suspect who had his backpack and heard shots coming from the first suspect, who was running behind him. The suspect with the backpack also heard the shots, which caused him to drop his backpack,” police said in a statement.
“The kid with the gun got out of my car and shot me and his friend, friend, accomplice, whatever you want to call it,” the homeowner said.
“I continued to chase him to where I saw him get in the car, in Holcombe, right in front of Herman Urgent Care,” he added.
The two robbers then ran to catch up with a blue Chevrolet Camaro that drove past the house and did not come to a complete stop. Finally, the two reach the car and drive off.
“Usually when they say give me the keys, someone immediately gives them to them and they leave. It didn’t happen that way, so they were fooled,” he said.
‘They did not know what to do. Fortunately, there were a lot of mistakes, or she probably wouldn’t be talking to you today.
The Houston Police Department said it is now appealing to members of the public for information about the attempted robbery and posted descriptions that both had the lower half of their faces hidden.
He said information leading to charges could net up to $5,000 in cash.