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Car Owner Shoots Carjacker Who Couldn’t Drive Manual: Police

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Dana Abizaid Contributor
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A car owner fought back against an attempted carjacking in San Antonio early Thursday morning, according to Road and Track.

The owner exchanged gunfire with the would-be thieves after they realized they couldn’t drive the car because it had a manual transmission, Road and Track reported. Police said the gunfight left one of the alleged thieves wounded in the head.

The incident took place around 2:45 a.m. on the city’s West Side when the two suspects approached the car owner and another person as they exited a bar, police told Road and Track. The alleged carjackers pulled guns and demanded that the car owner hand over his keys. After the car owner complied, one of the suspects jumped into the driver’s seat and tried to drive away, but couldn’t because he was unable to drive a manual transmission. (RELATED: Teen Gets Crap Beat Out Of Him After Trying To Carjack Grandma On Her Way To Chemo)

Police said when the man then ran to another suspect’s vehicle to escape, the victim pulled out a gun and opened fire, KSAT.com reported. One of the bullets went through the headrest of the passenger’s seat and grazed one of the suspects in the head, police said.

The wounded suspect was able to make it home where his family promptly called emergency crews, according to KSAT.com. The suspect was taken to University Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police booked the suspect for aggravated robbery but have released no further details at this time, Road and Track reported.

Only 18% of American drivers can operate a manual transmission and only five percent of vehicles sold in the US are stick shifts, CBS News Minnesota reported.