‘I’m just glad to be alive’: 82-year-old man fights off attempted carjacker

ATLANTA - Atlanta police need help after surveillance cameras caught a teenager attacking a man in his 80s.

The attempted carjacking happened at the Chevron gas station on McDonough Boulevard in southeast Atlanta.

"I thought he was going to shoot me," The Victim said.

The victim doesn’t want to be identified but told police he stopped at the gas station around 2:30 to fill up on gas.

"As I put my gas nozzle back and was getting ready to get in the car, I turned around and he was there with a gun in his pants, and showed part of it. He just said ‘Give it up’ and I asked ‘To give what up?’ and he said ‘You know what I’m talking about. Give me them keys," the man said.

The man was able to reach into the car and attempt to grab papers from a previous doctor’s appointment.

"He said ‘OK and you need to hurry up,’" the man described.

The 82-year-old said he saw an opportunity to fight and took it.

"I saw he wasn’t looking and I grabbed his arm with the gun in it and we started ‘tusseling’ and we hit the ground," the victim said.

At one point the surveillance video shows the gun being tossed in the other direction.

"He grabbed the gun again and he pointed it at me and said ‘do you want me to shoot you? Don’t make me shoot you man.’ I said ‘Please don’t shoot me man’. I backed off and ran into the store," the victim said.

While the victim ran inside for help the would-be robber tried to take off in the car but no luck.

"Oh it scared me! It scared me. I thought he was going to shoot me," the victim said.

Police believe the suspect has dreadlocks and could be 17 or 18 years old. This one with no apparent respect for their elders.

"They are getting desperate. That’s what they are changing to the most vulnerable people now," the victim said. "I’m just glad to be alive."

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers and remain anonymous.

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