A Wisconsin man is in serious condition after exchanging shots with a group of five men who tried to carjack him at gunpoint early Friday morning. According to police in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, the armed citizen was filling up his car at a gas station around 3 a.m. when another car drove up and several men hopped out to demand the victim hand over his belongings. 

Instead, the armed citizen drew his pistol and fired at his assailants.

Wauwatosa police reported that at around 3 a.m. on Friday, July 26, an officer heard gunshots near Mayfair and Capitol. The officer saw a white sedan fleeing the scene and started a pursuit that ended with a minor crash at 110th and Congress.

A 911 call was received from a person who reported being shot at the gas station, according to police. The victim told officials that five suspects, one of whom was armed, confronted him while he was pumping gas and attempted to steal his car. An exchange of gunfire ensued, as the victim was reportedly also armed, and the suspects fled in their car.

As the subsequent police pursuit ended in a crash, multiple people reportedly fled the car.

Four of the five suspects were able to flee from police, but authorities say they did take an 18-year-old from Milwaukee into custody at the scene. Police also report that the suspects’ vehicle was reported stolen in Milwaukee on Wednesday, but haven’t said if it was also taken during a carjacking or whether it was stolen while the owner wasn’t around.

When anti-gun activists or politicians question why anyone would need more than ten rounds in their magazine, incidents like this provide the answer. Yes, it’s a Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Needs, but the anti-gunners don’t care about the constitutionality of banning “large capacity” magazines. This is a real-world example of why more than ten rounds may be necessary to protect ourselves. Criminals don’t want a fair fight. In this case, there were five individuals hoping to use overwhelming force to rob someone of their vehicle, and were prepared to use deadly force if need be. 

Carrying a firearm doesn’t make you bulletproof, nor does it guarantee that you’ll be able to successfully defend your life from a violent encounter. But as we’ve recently seen in other recent carjackings, not carrying a gun doesn’t guarantee your safety either. 

Two teenagers were arrested Wednesday in the murder of the Ohio single mom who was struck by her own SUV when she tried to stop a carjacking as her young son sat in the backseat, cops said.

One of the suspects taken into custody by police was 16-year-old Ray-Yon Hawkins, who allegedly admitted to striking Alexa Stakely with the Honda in a panic after he tried to steal her ride with a couple of buddies earlier this month, authorities said. 

Stakely, 29, smashed her head on the pavement after she was hit as the group of friends ditched the car a short distance away and fled on foot, Columbus police said.

I refuse to put my trust and faith in the strangers who would rob someone at gunpoint, blindly hoping that they’ll show some humanity. I’d rather have a fighting chance at survival, just like the armed citizen in Wauwatosa who had to defend his life at a gas pump.