A Georgia woman sprayed a would-be car thief with gasoline after he jumped inside her vehicle, as she was filling her tank on Thursday morning.
Gabrielle Halford said she felt terrified after the suspect pulled up in a car next to hers, and slid inside her vehicle. The event occurred at the Texaco on Roosevelt Highway and Welcome All Road in South Fulton.
“I was just standing here just watching the gas pump and all of a sudden I just felt like some motion in my car, like it was swaying from side to side,” she told Channel 2 Action News.
Surveillance footage shows the moment when Halford realized what was happening. She then turned and opened her car door, and sprayed the man with gas from the pump.
“I took the gas nozzle, and I just started spraying him with the gas, and he eventually got out of my car, and he left,” she recalled.
Halford told reporters that her vehicle was turned off and she was holding her keys when the incident occurred. Her car also has a push-to-start option.
“I didn’t know what it was, so I just happened to look and it was a black male in my driver’s seat. I have a push-to-start car, so he was trying to push the button to start my car,” Halford said.
Unfortunately, the suspect got away with her purse, but police said he left behind one shoe which they kept as evidence.
Halford said she was disappointed that the people nearby just watched as she defended herself and her vehicle, and did not do anything to help.
“There were people around here just looking, just sitting in their cars looking, no one came for help except for this one lady. She came to my rescue,” she stated.
Halford told reporters that she was completely caught off guard by the suspect’s actions, but said she hopes the police are able to identify the man as soon as possible.