Devil's head camper shoots carjacker pike national forest

On Tuesday at about 2:09pm, authorities were informed of a carjacking that had taken place in El Paso County, Colorado. The thief then drove the stolen car into the Pike National Forest, shooting randomly at vehicles he saw along his way.

Eventually, he stopped at a campground, rifle in hand, and approached a camper with it. Apparently, he didn’t care, or wasn’t aware, that people who spend the night in a Colorado forest generally do so armed.

Perceiving the threat, the camper opened fire, making it possible for the Manitou Springs Police Department, which had been tracking calls as they came in, to apprehend the 29-year-old suspect.

The unidentified perp, who is now in stable condition after taking multiple gunshot wounds, was the only one injured in the incident. He now faces charges in multiple counties.

Although anti-gunners love to paint lawful gun owners as trigger-happy vigilantes, this is one of many incidents that counteracts that idea. If vigilantism were encouraged (or even remotely acceptable), the attackers in these incidents wouldn’t have survived nearly as often as they do.

In reality, most perpetrators do survive defensive gun uses. That’s because law-abiding gun owners aren’t killers. They draw their weapons in order to save their own lives — to stop the threat — not to take a life.

One day, maybe, that fact will sink in.

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43 COMMENTS

  1. Nicely done. I hope that the camper (and the alleged perp) had some clean underwear into which to change. 8>)

  2. No, it won’t sink in, because they don’t care. Don’t confuse them with the facts, their minds are made up. YMMV

    • Been my experience with anti-gun fanatics that reason and logic are completely foreign to them, and you would impart more knowledge to a not too bright puppy.

    • Exactly Don. They couldn’t care less whether we are injured or killed by the vermin they love to protect and cover for ie excuse. The only way they learn is if something dire happens to them or their ilk. Even then, it’s a coin toss.

  3. whoever summarized this did a piss poor job. “perceiving a threat” ok the guy, as you tell it, literally just walked up and got shot or this camper owner is psychic.
    you need to do a better job of giving the IMPORTANT details as in the two had some kind of conversation and the perp made his intentions known, THEN the perp got shot. big difference.

    • If he was pointing a rifle at the camper then that seems a hell of a lot like a threat. “Oh look some random guy walking towards me in the woods. He has a rifle in hand… Hmm I bet he’s not hunting (insert reasons like maybe not having the rifle slung or having finger on trigger etc.).”

      So yeah it doesn’t say he pointed the rifle at him, but in this case the camper seems to have made a good call. I’m willing to bet the camper had some pretty loud alarms going off that told him “THREAT!”.

    • You have obviously never been threatened or shot at. I suggest you patrol the back streets of Chicago unarmed learning who is and isn’t a threat when you are assaulted. You have 30 seconds to identify the threat!

    • Maybe the post changed since you read it but it now reads that the camper didn’t shoot until the rifle was pointed at them. Maybe you comment had the intended effect.

  4. Officer I swear I was aiming for his foot, but I reckon I missed and accidentally hit him between his eyes. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

    • “Mind telling me what happened?”

      “Lawyer.”

      “Are you sure you don’t want to talk to me, just give me a run down of what happened.”

      “Lawyer.”

      • Well, accept that you’re probably getting arrested. Get ready to pay thousands of dollars to go through the process- tens of thousands if it goes to trial. Self-defense is an affirmative defense to homicide: you must assert it.

        Still worth it… if you’re guilty or think the evidence might look guilty. But if some dude breaks in your house with an axe and you shoot him while he’s running towards you and your pregnant wife, hopefully she has enough sense to tell the cops wtf happened. OR, as in this case, if a guy literally drives up and starts shooting at you.

        Of course, in my experience, a lot of people who give the “I want a lawyer” advice end up spilling their guts in a real situation because people naturally want to tell people the crazy-ass thing that just happened to them.

        • USCCA is United States Concealed Carry Association; self defense insurance using any weapon, hands included. Pays up front, no waiting. 24/7/365 help only a phone call away, only the best 2A attorneys. Even covered in no weapons zones. Get it.

  5. libs never let the facts interfere with their preconceived logic. But it will be a cold day in hell before the american people give up their guns.

  7. That’s how we roll!!!

    Good thing it wasn’t a 6.5. I hear just the sight of those wonder rounds will kill a man, out of shear terror… 🙂

    Have a GREAT weekend everybody!!! God Bless…

    • 6.5 CM is an absolute weapon of last resort. The BC is so good and the overall cartridge length is so near a .308 that any 6.5 CM round fired in self defense would kill everything in a 400 yard radius. Not only that but if you ND the round strait in to the groud, the compression of matter infront of the bullet would create so much exotic matter that by the time the 6.5 CM projectile arrived at Earth’s core, it would create a black hole and kill us all!!

  8. Took my sidearm on vacation there. Was literally a couple miles away while this was happening.

  9. Seems like a lot of bad guys are living to do it again…. I’m not big on killing someone who is crazy but what and where are these defenders shooting? I’ve been shot at a few times so I do understand how it feels to be threatened. I carry a .45 PPQ M2 and a Shield Pro Shop .45. I have also worked as a medic and seen lots of people alive on the ambulance after being shot with 9’s… some more than once. Curiously I’ve seen a lot of people dead from being shot with a .22 LR round once or twice. People don’t generally survive a C zone hit with a .45 either, only from what I’ve seen in 40+ years.
    I did hear of someone being shot with a 6.5 from over two miles away that left only a pile of arms and legs at the scene…. not sure how the shooter could tell he was being threatened although he did have a 6×87 power scope.

    • George from Alaska,

      Someone compiled the data for mortality rates from various popular handgun calibers. The mortality rates were all about the same — even including the lowly .22 LR cartridge.

      In my opinion, the major difference between handgun calibers is HOW FAST they incapacitate or kill an attacker. While the lowly .22 LR cartridge may have the same ability to ultimately incapacitate or kill an attacker, it almost certainly takes LONGER to do so (on average) than a larger caliber such as 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .357 Magnum, or .44 Magnum.

      My advice to people is to carry the largest caliber in the largest handgun that they can carry, control, and shoot accurately.

      • It simply depends. if you live where it is warm, or when it is warm, a 9mm would usually be more concealable than a 45 with the same capacity. even 380 can pocket more readily than a 9398

        If you live somewhere with a 10 round mag limit and it is you home defense gun you have a good argument to use larger caliber.

        If you are doing your due diligence and practicing a lot, the lower cost of 9mm ammo is a valid consideration since for the same cost per year you can practice a lot more on 9 than 45 or 40.

        There are LOTS of valid reasons to go higher or lower on caliber and no rule that gives either a compelling reason to assert superiority.

  10. In reality, most perpetrators do survive defensive gun uses. That’s because law-abiding gun owners aren’t killers. They draw their weapons in order to save their own lives — to stop the threat — not to take a life.

    What, no mag dumps?
    How unprofessional of them.
    I guess that’s why they don’t carry badges.

  11. “shooting randomly at vehicles he saw along his way.”

    That’s essentially terrorism.

    • No more than a serial killer is a “terrorist.” Words have meanings. The definition of terrorism is violence plus political motivation… not being violent and freakin’ nuts.

      • Fanaticism that drives a person to kill is nuts – so terrorism and nuts has a fine line between them – so fine that it is very hard to see.

      • I agree with you. Terrorism is violence for a wider purpose, against innocent persons. That purpose can be political or religious or both, but it is always about some kind of a “Cause” the terrorist is trying to push.

  12. “In reality, most perpetrators do survive defensive gun uses.”

    That’s a bug not a feature. I know we shoot to stop a threat of death or serious bodily injury, but IMO if the attacker deserves to get shot he deserves to die.

    • Yeah, I do not choose my carry guns or ammo to be “less lethal”. Stop really quick is gonna equate to die pretty quick most times.

  13. Our RV is a little bigger than the one in the picture.
    And nicer, that’s beside the point.
    Around camp my wife carries the G42, me, a 9mm Shield or the Springfield XDs in 9mm.
    At night and at hand is the XD40. Never needed them, hope not to but…

    • Yup, .380, two 9’s, a .40, and the aught-six, first aid kit, fire extinguishers. Emergencies come in many flavors.

  15. Thanks for all of the comments. I carry a 12 ga shotgun, but think after reading your comments that I should invest in a handgun.

  17. I certainly hope the person defending themselves took out a couple of knees and elbows. Too bad one of the shots wasn’t fatal. I have a feeling when this nut gets loose in (probably due to some liberal bleeding heart) public he will try it again.

  18. It has been my experience that many anti-gun nuts are just some special kind of fools that have never come under life threatening circumstances by bad elements of our society, have no knowledge about guns in general or self defense in particular. They are sheep among wolves and totally dependent upon others in times of crisis.

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