Sandy MaloneWashington, DC – A neighborhood surveillance camera captured the moment an angry teacher scared off an armed carjacker in her northeast DC neighborhood last week (video below).
The incident occurred at about 3:20 p.m. on Aug. 23 on 10th Street, NE, just a few blocks from the H-Street corridor, WTTG reported.
Iris Bond Gill said she saw the would-be carjacker as she was parking her car but didn’t think anything of it.
Surveillance video showed Bond Gill got out of her vehicle and was searching for something in her purse when the armed man approached her from behind.
The suspect was wearing a hoodie and appeared to be pointing a gun at Bond Gill in the video.
“You know, it’s really complicated to think about now,” she told WTTG. “I don’t exactly remember, but I know – I knew I was in danger. And so, I just threw off my bag and just prepared to be confrontational.”
The video showed that when the suspect came up behind Bond Gill, she threw her belongings to the pavement and yelled.
“What the f-k?” Bond Gill screamed.
She told WTTG that the gunman told her “Give me your keys” and said “I’ll shoot you.”
Bond Gill said that at the time, it didn’t register that he wanted her car keys.
The video showed that once the veteran teacher realized what was happening, she stepped up to the armed man threatening her.
“No!” Bond Gill yelled at him in the video.
He threatened her again, but the woman showed no fear in the video, stepping forward and telling the would-be carjacker to “Shoot me. Shoot me,” the video showed.
The video showed Bond Gill started swinging her arms and the gunman began backing away from her.
Then he changed his mind and walked back toward his victim and pointed at her belongings.
The video showed Bond Gill yelled at the man and began clapping her hands in a lecturing manner and once again, the suspect fled.
She continued yelling at him as he fled the area on foot and then bent down to retrieve her scattered belongings.
Video showed that cars passing by didn’t stop to assist the brave woman.
“I’ve seen the video and to be honest, I saw a young man in front of me,” Bond Gill told WTTG. “And I saw in him, I think what I’ve seen a lot of young people I’ve worked with over the years. And in some way, I think I went into almost a chastising mode with him as well.”
The fact that no one stopped her help her did not go unnoticed.
“We need stronger communities,” Bond Gill said. “You see the suspect back away when a car comes, but no one stopped to help or was really able to intervene.”
No arrests have yet been made in the attempting carjacking, WTTG reported.
Bond Gill said she hoped what happened to her would make other people increase their situational awareness when they’re parking their cars or walking down city streets.
“Gone are the days of having older neighbors that sat on the porch all day and watched and waved to you on when you got home from work,” she explained. “I think in some ways, trying to think about how to preserve this intergenerational neighborhood is so valuable. We’ve lost so much of that in the city with massive displacement.”
“So, I think just having more people around that know each other and that support each other would be really helpful,” the educator added.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below:
They say you never know how you’ll react until you’re in the moment.
This video is making the rounds, showing a woman standing her ground to an attempted armed suspect. I spoke w/the victim today, who’s not encouraging this response. I’ll have her message on @fox5dc @ 4, 5 & 6PM pic.twitter.com/7Bc0uNOA1K— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) August 26, 2022
Holly Matkin
