For at least the fourth time this month, an armed citizen in Philadelphia has been able to defend themselves from a carjacker on city streets. The latest incident happened on Thursday evening in the city’s Kensington neighborhood, when a pizza delivery driver pulled up at an address to hand over an order. Instead, a stranger appeared and demanded the man’s car at gunpoint.

The victim, who police say has a license to carry, grabbed his own gun and shot the suspect six times.

According to Philadelphia Police Inspector DF Pace, the suspect was able to return fire, but the victim was not injured.

The suspect was taken to an area hospital by a private vehicle where he was placed in extremely critical condition.

Police say two people who were with the suspect are also being questioned at this time.

Last year there were about 750 reported carjackings in Philadelphia, which was already a sharp increase from previous years, but 2022 is getting off to an even rougher start. So far this month the city has seen more than 90 reported carjackings, putting the city on pace for more than 1,000 by year’s end.

It’s not just Philadelphia either. Carjackings appear to be happening more frequently in a lot of other cities too, which may spur more folks to lawfully carry a gun on them when they hit the road. Being armed may very well have saved the life of this delivery driver in Philadelphia, and it also could have been the difference between life and death for a man in Killeen, Texas who was forced to defend his life just a few days ago.

The armed fugitive who led authorities on a high-speed chase in the Killeen area before he was shot by an armed driver while trying to carjack that driver has been identified as Jamar McNair Jones.

… On January 18, 2022, a Central Texas driver shot Jones after the wanted fugitive attempted to carjack the driver.

Killeen Police Chief Charles Kimble told KWTX it all started when police officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant at the suspect’s house that morning. At the time, Jones was wanted in connection to a string of robberies in the area and has an active warrant out of Dallas for aggravated robbery, Kimble said.

Jones entered a vehicle and fled the scene, leading authorities on a chase into Harker Heights, Nolanville and back into Killeen.

Police said Jones then wrecked the Nissan he was driving and then proceeded to the intersection of Rosewood and the Central Texas Expressway access road, where he attempted to carjack a driver at gunpoint.

That driver, who was legally armed, shot Jones several times while thankfully avoiding any injury to himself. Jones survived the shooting, and earlier this week was released from the hospital and formally indicted on several charges relating to his high-speed chase and attempted carjacking.

I’m not saying that carrying a firearm guarantees you’ll be able to defend yourself against violent criminals. In fact, a concealed carry holder and son of a Philadelphia police officer was brutally murdered just a few days ago; shot multiple times outside of a corner store, Hyram Hill’s gun was allegedly stolen by his attacker as he lay dying on the street.

A gun isn’t a magic wand or a suit of armor, but it is another layer of protection that improves your odds of surviving a violent encounter with a cold-blooded sociopath who couldn’t care less whether you live or die, and God knows we’ve got far too many of those monsters running around unchecked and emboldened these days.