New Orleans Carjacker Hospitalized After Victim Shoots in Self-Defense

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/01/26/new-orleans-carjacker-
hospitalized-after-victim-shoots-in-self-defense-n79815

According to New Orleans police, carjackings have noticeably declined in
the Crescent City over the past couple of years; down by almost 50 percent
compared to 2022, when there was almost a carjacking reported every day.
Some of those crimes received national attention at the time because of
the shocking nature of the incidents, like the carjacking of 73-year-old
Linda Frickey, who was killed when four teenagers ended up dragging her
behind her vehicle after they forced her out of her car and drove away
with her arm still tangled in the driver’s seatbelt. Three of the four
ended up taking plea deals for attempted manslaughter last November, while
John Honore, who was 17 at the time of the carjacking, was found guilty of
second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life just a couple
of weeks ago.

The crime wave even caused producers of the show “Queer Eye” to cut their
New Orleans-based season short after two separate carjacking attempts
against members of the production team in a five-day span. Things may have
improved since then, but there were still about three carjackings per week
reported in the city last year, so while the numbers might be trending in
the right direction there’s still plenty of reason for drivers to be aware
of the threat.

Thankfully, it sounds like one motorist was prepared to protect himself
early Friday morning on the city’s east side when a stranger approached
with the intent of robbing him of his vehicle.

The victim, an adult male, was reportedly targeted by 23-year-old
Johnathan Edwards in the 7300 block of Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans
East around 2 a.m. on Jan. 26.

Police say Edwards pulled on the door handle and told the victim to get
out.

The victim fired shots at Edwards, striking him multiple times, the NOPD
said.

We don’t have a lot of information about this particular defensive gun use
other than the fact that Edwards (no relation, by the way) survived his
encounter with the armed citizen, who’s not expected to face any charges
for acting in self-defense. Edwards, on the other hand, is looking at one
count of attempted first-degree robbery when he’s released from the
hospital.

Police haven’t said if Edwards was armed when he tried to abscond with the
gun owner’s vehicle, but even if he didn’t have a gun of his own his
actions still posed a threat to the driver’s life. The four teens who
killed Linda Frickey didn’t use a gun or a knife, after all, but her own
vehicle, and the driver who defended himself today could just as easily
been dragged behind or run over as the carjacker tried to make a quick
getaway.

Simply possessing a gun doesn’t mean that you’ll be in a position to use
it in self-defense, of course, but there’s a zero percent chance of
defending yourself with a firearm if you’re not carrying one. New Orleans
has never been a particularly low-crime city, and even with the declines
in carjackings, armed robberies, and homicides last year there were still
far too many acts of violence committed against good folks just trying to
go about their daily routine. Hopefully, the Louisiana legislature will
quickly approve a permitless carry bill that will enable lawful gun owners
to more easily exercise their right to bear arms in self-defense and we’ll
see more defensive gun uses like this in the future… which in turn could
help to continue the decrease in carjackings reported in 2023.


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