‘There was a gun pointed right at me’: Attempted carjacking in Springfield caught on video

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A doorbell camera captured what appears to be an attempted carjacking in Springfield Sunday night.

“I just looked to my left and there was a gun pointed right at me,” Billy Harris said.

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Harris and his girlfriend Polly West are still shaken up from Sunday night.

“I’m just glad that he had the mind to see what was going on and take off when he did, because that was freaky,” West said.

The two said three young people tried to carjack Harris and his coworker at gunpoint along West 10th Street in Springfield.

A doorbell camera caught the incident on video. Harris is parked in front of the house and West is walking down the steps to meet him.

As she is approaching the car, another person is walking in the street, then a second person appears.

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“My coworker started screaming, and I just put it in drive, turned to the left really sharp, and just put my head down and tore off down the street,” Harris said.

In the video, the two people approach his car and Harris speeds away.

Harris said he noticed some younger kids checking door handles when he first got to the house, but coming face-to-face with a gun was nothing he ever expected.

“Gun violence is going up. There’s a lot happening out here. Handle checkers are walking around with guns now that they’re stealing from people’s cars,” West said.

According to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office records, there have been a steady number of reported carjackings the past three years.

In 2019, there were 101 reports, in 2020, 83 reports and in 2021 there were 95 reports.

They don’t have much information on the attackers to go on right now.

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“Tall, skinny guy, looked like it could have been a teenager, but he had a black mask over his face,” Harris said.

The two reported the incident to the police, but they say they didn’t receive the response they hoped for.

“They said that there wasn’t a crime committed… but it felt like a crime,” Harris said.

Our law and safety expert Dale Carson said otherwise.

He has years of experience in law enforcement, including time with the FBI.

“Clearly if the individual in the automobile or the individual walking down the steps was in fear of their life as a result of seeing the firearm in that circumstance, then that’s quite clearly a crime, and it’s aggravated assault at the very minimum,” Carson said.

Right now, the couple says they are just thankful they’re both OK.

Action News Jax reached out to JSO for clarification on what officers meant by no crime being committed but we have not heard back yet.

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