Horrifying footage captured the moment a terrified Missouri woman hung on to the hood of her car as a thief shamelessly stole it right out of her parking spot.
A woman stepped outside of her home at the Columbia Lofts near 21st and Wyandotte in Kansas City early Monday morning to take her dog out for a quick bathroom break.
But in a matter of seconds, she became the target of an unexpected carjacking.
‘This was a frightening reminder that even a quick moment of perceived safety can turn dangerous,’ Attorney Rich McLeod, whose office surveillance cameras captured the crime, told KMBC News.
Video footage captured the unidentified woman bundled up as she walked her little black dog just feet away from her apartment building.
It seemed like a normal snowy day in the neighborhood before a white sedan suddenly pulled into the lot – stopping right in front of the woman’s running car.
A man was captured getting out of the sedan before he began to nonchalantly walk over to the woman’s dark blue Chevy Malibu.
The woman, who appeared to be throwing something out in a dumpster just four parking spaces away, realized something was wrong when she witnessed him getting into her vehicle.
Horrifying footage captured the moment a terrified woman hung on to the hood of her car as a thief shamelessly stole it right out of her apartment’s parking space in Kansas City, Missouri
While the woman was walking her dog feet away, a white sedan suddenly pulled into the lot and stopped right in front of the woman’s running car before a man got out of the vehicle and nonchalantly walked over to her dark blue Chevy Malibu and got inside
Before the man even closed the driver’s side door, the woman was captured running back towards her car with her tiny dog hurrying just behind her on the leash.
She quickly stood in front of the car, attempting to stop the thief from driving off.
But he instead began to creep out of the parking space, prompting the white sedan to drive off.
In the blink of an eye, the woman dropped the leash just as the man hit the gas and took off – all while she was clinging to the hood of her own car.
The footage captured the sound of her screams as the thief sped down the street in the opposite direction of where the white sedan drove off – ultimately stealing her car despite her efforts to stop him.
The dog was captured sitting in the street, seemingly confused as to what just happened.
Police told KMBC that the woman was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries but has since been released.
But the chilling speed of the crime left the neighborhood shaken up.
She quickly dropped the leash and stood in front of the car, attempting to stop the thief from driving off, but he instead began to creep out of the parking space
‘I timed that, 43 seconds from start to finish,’ McLeod said in reference to the security footage.
‘In and out. Car gone. Car owner gone with it. Dog abandoned,’ he added. ‘It was shocking.’
The woman was only a mere 25 feet away from her parked car – a distance that many would consider safe.
Despite her vehicle being parked directly in front of what should be the safety of her own apartment building, McLeod described the act as a clear ‘target of opportunity’ – noting how the thief took advantage of the vulnerability of the situation.
‘We’ve all done that,’ McLeod said. ‘We’re 25 feet from our car and we think it’s safe.’
‘For heaven’s sake, we don’t think someone is going to run over us for a car,’ he added. ‘But we’re wrong.’
The suspects have yet to be identified and the stolen Chevy Malibu along with the white sedan have yet to be found, but McLeod said he hopes they are caught soon.
An investigation is still underway and the public is urged to remain vigilant at all times – you never know how fast something can unfold in front of your own eyes.
Just as the thief began to pull out, the white sedan he came in drove off in the opposite direction
In the blink of an eye, the man hit the gas and started to speed away while the woman’s abandoned dog was sitting in the middle of the road, seemingly confused at what was happening
The brazen crime came just five months after a man was killed during a carjacking in Kansas City.
Michael DeHaan, 33, was pumping gas at a BP station when he was approached by a man who got into his car.
DeHaan fought with the man, who was later identified as Lorenzo Johnson, just seconds before it turned deadly.
‘The man pulled a gun and Mike put his hands up and walked to the back of the car,’ Tammy DeHaan, Michael’s mother, told KSHB News.
‘And this man got out and didn’t aim for anything but shot him… He had his car. This is the part that I struggle with.’
Johnson got out of the car, shot DeHaan and ran him over with the car before taking off.
Johnson, the accused, was charged in the Jackson County Court with a slew of charges, including second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
‘Motor vehicle thefts are, a lot of times, they’re two things,’ Daniel Brunner, retired FBI agent, told KSHB.
The horrifying footage captured the moment the woman clung to the hood of her car as the man drove off – later being taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries
The suspects have yet to be identified and the stolen Chevy Malibu along with the white sedan have yet to be found
‘One, it’s a crime of opportunity. And two, it’s a quick turnaround.’
From 2019 to 2023, the nationwide rate of motor vehicle theft rose from 199.4 incidents per 100,000 people to 283.5 incidents – hitting a 16-year high, according to fbi.gov.
‘I think it is difficult for police departments to investigate stolen cars because of the numbers of stolen cars that are occurring,’ Brunner added.
‘It’s just a monstrous amount. But there’s just no leads.’
