Constitutional Carry Works in Arizona: Armed 19-Year-Old Shoots, Kills, Carjacker

On 17 July, at bout 1:30 a.m. in South Phoenix, Arizona, there was an attempted carjacking. The suspects may have thought the selected victim would be an easy target, because he was a teenager. It did not turn out that way. In Arizona, there is respect for the Second Amendment. Eighteen, Nineteen, and Twenty-year-old citizens are not prohibited from carrying guns or from carrying them in vehicles. The perpetrators in this attempted crime made a poor choice in the victim selection process. For the knife-man, it was a life ending one. From 12news.com:

Around 1:30 a.m., police were called to the Circle K convenience store at Baseline Road and 24th Street.

Investigators say a 19-year-old man was sitting in his car at a gas pump with the driver's side door open when a woman reportedly came up to him to cause a distraction.

He then noticed the suspect coming toward him from the back of the car holding a knife.

According to the police, the suspect demanded the 19-year-old's car.

At that point, the victim got out his handgun and fired shots at the carjacker. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The target was more alert and better armed than the suspects suspected. He reminded me of the time a slim woman, openly carrying, shot and killed a man who pressed a gun to her neck a few miles away, at about one in the morning of 1 August, 2016. 

The other suspect, 28-Year-Old Viviana Aldrete, has been arrested and charged with 1st degree felony murder and armed robbery. Felony murder is when an accomplice is knowingly involved in a crime with significant, foreseeable risk of death or severe injury. The accomplice can be charged with murder if their associate dies as a result of the attempted crime. Carjacking is one of those crimes.

The situation is under investigation. It does not appear the defender will be charged with any crime. He has not given any interviews, nor has his identity been released by police.

This is a safety precaution. Even long term criminals have relatives and friends. Retaliatory attacks are always possible.

In several states, this young man would not have been legally able to carry a gun for self defense. His Second Amendment right to bear arms would have been infringed in New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, as well as California, and several others.

In Arizona, the Arizona Citizen's Defense League  (AZCDL) worked long and hard to restore Second Amendment rights in the state. Reform of the open carry law and of statutes regulating car carry worked in this defender's favor.

It was not too long ago that carjackings were much more common.  The number of carjackings has fallen, as the number of people who legally carry guns has risen. Most violent crime is down, with increasing legal gun carry, so it is difficult to determine precise cause and effect relationships. The academic literature shows more legal carry of guns is associated with lower crime rates, for the most part. A few studies show an increase in some specific crimes over some time periods.

In this case, the potential carjacker will not be attempting any more crimes.

One career criminal can commit dozens of crimes a year before they are caught.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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