DC bartender fights off teens in attempted carjacking caught on camera

WASHINGTON - A D.C. bartender fended off three teens who attempted to carjack him at a gas station in Northwest, and the entire ordeal was captured on surveillance footage.

The incident took place Saturday around 6 p.m. when Randy White, the bartender, pulled into a Sunoco gas station on 9th Street NW. 

After parking his Jeep Grand Cherokee, White noticed three teenagers standing nearby. He walked into the convenience store, made his purchase, and returned to his vehicle, only to be attacked by the teens, who he said demanded his belongings.

White fought back, and in an interview with FOX 5, he described how one of the suspects put him in a chokehold, pulling him to the ground. During the struggle, one of the suspects dropped a rifle magazine, police confirmed, and White's car keys fell out of his pocket. 

One of the teens grabbed the keys, and two of them jumped into the Jeep in an attempt to steal it.

White didn’t back down. He entered his vehicle and continued to resist the attackers, eventually forcing them to give up and leave the gas station. 

Witnesses quickly called 911, and although the teens managed to escape, they took the key fob to White’s home.

"Where I grew up, it's just …  I work too hard for what I have," White said. "I can't give up my property like that. It's not in me. I wasn't raised that way. I was just hoping that they would see that I am resisting them and they would've just given up or went off, but that wasn't the case. I was able to keep them occupied and fight them off long enough that they ended up cutting their losses and hitting bricks."

White added that at the time, he was simply defending himself and his property. "Figure something else out to make money. Stop hurting people. It's kind of ridiculous," he said.

Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspects. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact D.C. police.