'He didn’t deserve this': Wife of man shot, carjacked in Prince George's County speaks out
MT. RAINIER, Md. - The wife of a Mt. Rainier man who was shot during a carjacking Thursday spoke exclusively to FOX 5 about his harrowing experience.
Jennifer Carranza says the incident has been traumatic for her husband and their family.
Police believe whoever targeted him did so randomly, looking for the right opportunity to steal his car.
"He’s a nice guy. He didn’t deserve this," Carranza said.
Carranza was in Honduras when she got the call about what happened. She was planning on returning home next week, but came back early to be with her husband, who is still recovering in the hospital after being shot.
"When I got the call, and I didn’t know what happened, I only know that he was shot. The first thing that came to my mind was that he died," Carranza said.
FOX 5 exclusively obtained surveillance video of the carjacking.
Carranza says her husband just parked the car with kids inside, the kids got out, her husband was getting a pizza he’d just picked up when two masked people who police believe could have been juveniles came up, stole the keys, shot him, and drove away.
"He has a lot of pain right now, but the doctor says today and tomorrow will be the worst days, but after that, we hope he will feel better," Carranza said.
Mt. Rainier Police Chief Linwood Alston told FOX 5’s Jacqueline Matter Thursday that this was a crime of opportunity, that the district’s spike in carjackings has spilled over to this neighboring community.
"They were pretty much leaning and waiting for any victim that came up and we’ve seen this across the board. They’ll come through our city and some of our neighboring cities and just look for victims," Alston said.
The victim is a chef.
His coworkers have organized a GoFundMe to help with medical bills, something the family appreciates.