According to police in Oakland, California, the number of carjackings taking place in the city has more than doubled compared to the first six months of 2020. As of last Sunday, almost 230 carjackings had taken place, about a 105% increase over last year.

Most of these carjackings have been successful, unfortunately. Oakland is in Alameda County, which rarely grants permission for residents to carry a firearm in self-defense (though the city’s criminals don’t seem to care about violating the state’s carry laws).

In one recent carjacking, however, the intended victim was able to fight back against her assailants.

A 16-year-old girl shot by a woman she was attempting to carjack was one of three people wounded in shootings within a two-hour period Monday night and Tuesday morning, authorities said.

One of the other victims was a man shot during an attempted robbery, authorities said.

Authorities said the girl, who is in critical but stable condition, was shot about 11:33 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of the Value Inn,  370 West MacArthur Blvd., across the street from Mosswood Park.

Authorities said the girl, who was armed with a taser, and another female juvenile approached  a woman in the lot and tried to steal her Porsche Cayenne SUV.

While the carjackers were armed with a stun gun, their intended victim was armed as well; with a pistol. The woman fired at least one shot that struck the 16-year old before fleeing the scene in another vehicle, presumably for her own safety.

As far as I can tell, the East Bay Times is the only local media outlet to cover this self-defense story, and their reporting leaves a lot of questions unanswered (though it’s likely because the police have yet to release all of the pertinent information).

Was the victim licensed to carry in California? If so, where was her permit issued? I’m fine with the Oakland police not releasing the name of the victim, but it would be nice to know if she’s from one of the California counties with sheriffs that recognize self-defense as a valid reason to obtain a carry permit.

I’d also like to see the local media press Oakland police chief LeRonne Armstrong for a comment about this woman acting in self-defense. After all, earlier this year it was Armstrong who chastised a local business owner for firing shots to stop an attack on a woman in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, proclaiming that the city needed “good witnesses” and not armed citizens.

“What we really don’t want to do is bring any additional issues that threaten safety into the equation,” Armstrong continued. “Having armed people out there tends to not be helpful. Officers sometimes have to determine who they’re trying to encounter and that also makes it unsafe for all of us. So while I appreciate those who have stepped forward and are looking to help our community members and be there and intervene, I think you can do that with your voices, you can do that with making phone calls to the OPD, but allowing us to come in and respond.”

If the woman who was the victim of this attempted carjacking had tried to follow Armstrong’s advice, she’d be missing her car today and very well be the one recovering from her injuries in a local hospital.

I do hope that the 16-year old suspect recovers from her injuries, but I also hope that the outcome of this particular carjacking becomes more widely reported in the Oakland area. Those individuals who may view drivers as an easy target should be aware that some of their victims may be armed in self-defense, despite the barriers put in place by Alameda County and the Oakland police chief. These criminals may live in a target-rich environment thanks to California’s gun control laws, but thankfully there are still a few armed citizens around able to protect themselves from attackers.