A normal evening out for one family in the Houston, Texas area took a dangerous turn as they were pulling into their driveway.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, a couple had just arrived back home around midnight with their two infants in the back seat of the car when two strangers approached the vehicle and tried to get inside the back doors.

That’s when the father shot at the suspects multiple times from inside the car and the wife drove away.

Deputies said the suspects were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds by two private vehicles.

Security video from a nearby home captured the incident. One teen suspect can be seen running away, while the other lies on the ground. Both eventually got picked up and were driven to the hospital.

“One of the parents inside the vehicle, as the suspects were attempting to enter, one of the parents fired off several rounds and shot both of the male suspects,” Sgt. J. Wheeler said. “They were transported to area hospitals.”

The two would-be robbers, both 16-years old, were last reported to be in fair condition. The family thankfully is okay, though I imagine they may still have some ringing in their ears from the shots fired by the father protecting his kids.

Kudos to both mom and dad for their respective responses in this situation, which unfolded in an instant. Even though it was late at night, the gun owner had the presence of mind and situational awareness to react almost immediately once he heard the back door of the SUV opening, and his spouse did the right thing by quickly driving away from the attack in order to ensure her family’s safety. At this point, it sounds like the only mistakes that were made were on the part of the 16-year olds who thought they’d found an easy target.

Carjackings in the Houston area are becoming more common, unfortunately. KHOU-TV in Houston recently crunched the numbers and found a significant rise since 2019, when 926 carjackings were reported in the city. Last year the Houston police investigated 1,216 and the pace doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Even worse, most of the time the carjackers are getting away with their crimes.

But even more eye-opening than where it happens is what happens after the crime. KHOU 11 Investigates found only 14% of carjackings since 2019 ended in an arrest. As of the end of March, 57% of cases were marked inactive with zero leads.

“It’s definitely concerning,” Brieden said. “We want to do what we can to change those numbers.”

Solving the crimes could be the key to slowing down violent crime overall. The police union said each carjacking only helps fuel long crime sprees.

“They’re doing it because they’re going to do other robberies with that same car,” Griffith said. “It’s not a one-off. They’re doing it for a purpose.”

It’s pretty sobering to learn that more than 4 out of 5 carjackings in Houston don’t ever result in charges being filed, much less a conviction. In this case, however, police have some solid leads and suspects in hand, and most importantly, a family is still united and unharmed after their close call because dad was able and ready to defend himself and his family from the unexpected danger lurking outside their home.