Fatal Carjacking for Christmas Shoppers

Christmas season has sent floods of shoppers to the streets and stores. The increasing influx of busy people running their holiday errands has not only made shopping malls more crowded, but also more lucrative hot spots for thieves.

Reuters reported one such attack on a New Jersey couple. Last night, Dustin Friedland, a thirty-year-old lawyer from Hoboken, was Christmas shopping with his wife at a mall in Milburn, NJ. After wrapping up for the night, the pair headed to their vehicle in the mall’s parking garage. Friedland first let in his wife, and then stepped around to the driver’s side of his Range Rover. Before he entered the vehicle, however, he was confronted by a gunman. The man shot Friedland in the head, killing him. He and an accomplice stole the vehicle, leaving Friedland’s grieving wife uninjured. The Freidland’s Range Rover was found earlier today in Newark, about ten miles from where the couple was carjacked.

For those of you headed out to the stores to wrap up your gift list this year, keep in mind that not everyone at the malls has “good will towards men” on their mind. Having strong situational awareness and maintaining your personal safety vigilantly can help you, and your loved ones, to stay safe this holiday shopping season.

Featured image courtesy of contributor TreyMo via istockphoto.com

H/T to David Jones of Reuters.com