A Lakewood resident relayed exclusively to TLS a harrowing story, describing how he and his family were held at gunpoint during a recent visit to Baltimore.
The resident says that he and his family were preparing to leave his brother-in-law’s home shortly after Shabbos, and were in the midst of packing up the car when they were approached by three black men. One suddenly pulled out a gun and put it against the head of the resident’s son, then quickly turned the gun on the resident himself. Caught off-guard and bewildered, the resident said that he was at first unsure what the man wanted, but it soon became clear that the man was attempting to carjack him, shouting to give him the keys.
The resident then tried knocking the gun away from the perpetrator, who promptly knocked him to the ground, but b’chasdei hashem did not open fire. After picking himself up off the floor, the resident begged the man for mercy, imploring the wannabe carjacker to leave him and his family alone.
Miraculously, the man obliged, agreeing with the resident that he shouldn’t bother them and let them go on their way.
The resident told TLS that he and his family’s escape from nearly being killed was nothing short of a neis.
“We made it out of there only because Hashem said so,” he said. “Nothing else was going to save us.”
The relieved resident has since made a birchas hagomel, thanking Hashem for his salvation from the hands of the criminals, and said that he will also be making a seudas hoda’ah in thanks to HKB”H who saved them at their darkest hour.
Following the incident, Baltimore Police. with the help of Shomrim. managed to track down the perpetrators and arrest them.
and if this had happened in brooklyn, neither chaverim nor the police would have been involved; a social worker would have shown up instead. HaShem yerachem
Why would you make it seem this happened in Lakewood??? Very misleading
Peaceful protesters probably.
Which part of Baltimore did this happen in?
HAGOMEL?
is there a psak about this?
@pleaseclarify
See משנה ברורה ריט לא
When I went to a self-defense course years ago, they said that if the assailant has a gun, you either cooperate or run. This is not Grand Theft Auto. He and his family were put in great danger by his reckless actions.
I assume he was ‘off-guard and bewildered,’ but let us all put in our minds this lesson, so the next person who it happens to doesn’t have the same knee-jerk reaction.
Don’t lose your life over a car. When your attacker is much stronger than you, compliance is best route to a safe outcome.