A car thief didn’t get far after stealing a Honda that was left running with a 6-year-old boy inside. The child’s father hopped into another car, caught up with the thief and wound up shooting him, deputies say.
The child was unharmed in the weekend shooting, while the car thief was critically wounded, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.
The theft happened when the boy’s dad was standing outside his 2012 Honda, saying goodbye to friends about 2:30 a.m Saturday west of Lake Worth Beach, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The car engine still was running when the thief, Lamar Thurman, 29, got in the car and drove off with the child. The boy’s dad had friends with him, and was able to get into another car to give chase.
“The victim and friends immediately chased after the vehicle while calling 911,” said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Teri Barbera.
The chase went on for a little more than four miles until Thurman crashed the Honda on Loquat Tree Drive, just outside Lantana.
As the child’s father and those with him got out of the car they were in and were trying to get his son from the stolen Honda, Thurman was able to free the car from where it had crashed. He begin to drive away again.
The boy’s dad had a gun and “shot at the suspect in an attempt to stop him from fleeing further with his child in the car,” Barbera said. Thurman was struck “several times” and crashed the car after traveling about 200 yards.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, evidence from the scene and statements from the child’s father and the other witnesses are consistent with the allegations. Additionally, Thurman has no prior association with them.
Thurman was taken to the hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
State records indicate that Thurman was released from prison in February and placed on community control for a 2016 carjacking and battery in Broward County.
The specific charges Thurman may be facing in the current case weren’t available Monday.
Staff writer Juan Ortega contributed to this report.