“Dallas police are investigating a shocking attack by a naked man who dove through a car’s open sunroof before assaulting the female driver,” wfaa.com reports. “‘A naked man jumped in,’ she told us, asking us to protect her identity. ‘He jumped in my car and he started attacking me . . . He started choking me, pulling my hair, pulling my eyes, and I couldn’t do anything,’ she said. As he clawed at her, the car skidded. Dallas police were there and tried to call the man off her, until they crashed. ‘I don’t know how much longer that attack would have lasted if [the police] weren’t there,’ the woman said.” Obviously, the man’s nakedness gives this story it’s piquancy. But there is a wider point . . .

Her attacker left in handcuffs for the hospital. Officers suspect he was on drugs. His victim’s car has $3,000 worth of damage she’ll have to pay for herself, but that’s not the worst part. “I feel more afraid, more aware of everything around me…like a prisoner,” she said.

A little more of that awareness before the man’s swan dive into her car may – may – have prevented the attack. An easily available firearm in her car would have ended it pretty quick, I reckon. And a firearm on her person now would help alleviate that fear. Equally, her ordeal reminds us that bad things can happen very quickly where and when you least expect it. Semper paratus peeps. Semper paratus. [h/t DD]

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98 COMMENTS

  1. What the hell, Texas. Are you trying to compete with Florida for “world’s craziest people” or what?

    • Now, now. We’re still a tub of popcorn, car of loud music, warning shot away from being that crazy. 🙂

    • We have had a rash of naked men incidents in Texas lately, in addition to whatever rashes the naked men themselves have had. Beyond this one, there’ve been at least two others of naked men in the middle of the day harrassing people in parks. A naked man accosting children in the park, for example, is practically begging to get ventilated.

    • The cops were very slow to respond to a naked unarmed man. Total cowards. They could have caught up to the car much sooner. They were already on the scene, they saw everything. The followed the car walking while the victim continued to be attacked.

  3. Obviously, we need to ban sunroofs, or at least make them where we can’t open them unless we are wearing a nifty transmitter watch. There should also be a remote kill switch so the police can close the sunroof and trap attackers in them.

  5. I have a 28 year old daughter with a car with a sunroof thinking about moving to Dallas. Somehow I’m not finding this too amusing. But maybe I can use it to convince her she really does need to start packing–heat, I mean.

    • My wife likes to shoot but refuses to carry on her person, so shes got a nice 4.5 inch blade in the perfect little pocket in her purse, good retention and access, and we bought a training blade to practice with. We live in DFW also.

      IF this lady had a good poke stick and knew how to use it, maybe she wouldnt be prey for any naked Tom, Dick and Harry.

      Maybe Hairy in this case 🙂

      • Oh, boy, would that break him of the habit or what? Hit the sunroof switch to pin him in place, and then, as they say, become the embodiment of an operator operating operationally. Yeah, it’d make a mess, but when you gonna get that chance again?

        • LOL I had not thought about using the sunroof, not operator enough I suppose hahah

  6. Hm. So far no random naked people have dove into my convertible. There’s a first time for everything however…

    • Given an open road, I could probably get to 100 before I got my gun out, then he can jump either before or after I shoot him. I’d actually prefer before, white leather seats, don’cha know.

  7. A naked guy dove thru her sun roof? Damn! What in the wide world of sports was he thinking? Gotta be crazy or high or both, because I can’t imagine anyone rationally planning this in advance as a smart way to attack someone.

    • Well, if the cops hadn’t been right there to start with, he could well have done whatever he wanted and got away in her car.

  8. Obviously, I’m 100% in favor of being armed, or I probably wouldn’t be on this site a dozen times a day. But this sounds like one of those scenarios where a gun probably wouldn’t have helped much. I mean, a naked guy drops through the roof of your car and starts beating on you and clawing your eyes – while you’re still driving – are you going to have the opportunity and presence of mind to pull the gun, and then have enough room to get a clean shot off? Maybe, which is why you should be armed, but it seems like this is more of an argument for having at least some hand-to-hand self-defense training, rather than planning to rely on a gun in all cases. At least to get the psycho off you long enough to shoot his dumb ass.

    • I actually thought of that myself, whether or not there would be time to shoot the guy. At least in this case, he seemed to take enough time slithering thru the roof to allow someone with quick access to a gun to hit the brakes and draw.

  10. Wow, that’s a little close to home (literally). Rest assured had he tried jumping through my sunroof, he’d be sucking on the barrel of my Glock 19 but I never have my sunroof open anyway. That’s a seriously ballsy thing to do in Texas (no pun intended).

      • I use an IWB Stealthgear Onyx but when I’m in the car, I keep the gun in the pouch on the back of my passenger seat so unless I am physically unable to reach behind it (my arms are pretty long), I should be able to draw.

  11. This one is almost as crazy as the guy in Florida who attacked and tried to eat people.

  12. In that situation I would prefer a knife to a gun. A fixed blade karambit would have been quite effective or a little TDI knife, among others.

    You should have a variety of tools for a variety of situations.

    • I keep a decent lock-blade knife clipped to my sun visor. It mostly gets used for opening snack packaging on road trips, but it also has a seatbelt cutter and a good edge. This sort of situation wasn’t on my mind when I put it in the car, but it would definitely be useful as a deterrent/penalty.

      • Just make sure you don’t drive through some of the totalitarian states like NY.

        • In NJ, its not generally enforced, but its technically illegal to carry ANY KNIFE on your person without a specific lawful purpose, “and just in case…” doesn’t count
          That’s how screwed up that state is… glad I got out

        • James R – Out of curiosity, “I have a package coming in the mail and I need to open some snack wrappers later today,” count?

        • 2C:39-5. Unlawful Possession of Weapons… d. Other weapons.
          Any person who knowingly has in his possession any other
          weapon under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for
          such lawful uses as it may have is guilty of a crime of
          the fourth degree.
          Its a bit of a grey area on what circumstances are “manifestly appropriate”
          Just like what stops are “reasonably necessary” while traveling with a firearm in NJ
          I never got hassled and like I said its not really enforced, but it cant hurt to have a good excuse on backup.

        • James R, WTF did that even say? Are you telling me people in NJ can read and understand that crap? I’m not seeing it. Are you telling me that a baseball bat in the back seat is illegal, then?

        • @Larry, im pretty sure it is if you can reach it. But I use to carry a two foot long stainless steel, chrome breaker bar and socket for the lug nuts on my mustang. Easily swung weight and solid, im pretty sure I could crack a skull with it if need be.

      • How the flamin’ hell would this problem cross your mind? I am not even concerned with someone jumping in my car at all, anymore, since doors lock automatically. I have never even DREAMED of somebody entering through the sunroof. Unprepared? I guess!

        • You can’t plan ahead for insane, off-the-wall situations like a belligerent naked nutburger leaping through your sun roof. But having a good knife on hand will at least prepare you for most contingencies.

    • +100, LOVE my TDI, had to get an aftermarket kydex sheath though, that POS metal clip got old fast.

      Also any of the CRKT knives made by James Williams are great too, depending on local laws etc.

  13. “All because she drove that day, and stopped, and he saw her”

    It’s getting harder and harder to listen to the news. What’s next ? …”All because the earth rotated, and the sun came up, and… quantum physics”

    It’s like they are just figuring out that random series of events steer the fortune of our lives everyday, good and bad. Maybe if more people thought it through they’d realize that it’s for this reason that being armed and prepared to defend yourself is important and is not based on fear or paranoia.

    Stuff happens.
    We react to it.
    Some see it coming (or developing) sooner than others
    Some are more prepared than others for an appropriate response

    Emotion and meaning is what we attach to these events, being prepared is just prudent.

  14. Hmm… Let see, if I apply “Watts Logic” to the problem, the obvious reasonable solution is to ensure that men are not allowed near cars when women are driving.

    I’m sure Bloomberg will be willing to “jump on board” and maybe restrict the size of sun-roofs as well.

    • Nobody NEEDS a sunroof that big. Wouldn’t it be worth it if it could save just one life?

    • No, the you’re missing the real problem. People need to be prohibited from taking their pants off, ever. I’m going to start a grass-roots organization (with a $50M “grant” from Emperor Bloomberg) to demand legislation to guarantee Pants Sense in America. We can’t have these #PantsBullies having their way on America’s streets.

      It’s for the children.

      • Uh.. you ain’t gonna make many new kids if folks can’t be taking their pants off.

        • You #PantsBullies just want everyone running around naked and jumping through sunroofs, don’t you? Now you’re going to be banned from commenting on any of our social media, because we want to participate in the national conversation on pants wearing.

        • PSHH, in our new state-opolis, all breeding must be done in the mandated position and while wearing the appropriate state approved intercourse garments including the O.U.H.I.C. (open up here it comes 🙂 ) permanent pants system.

    • I was thinking that they couldn’t be fat to jump through a sunroof… Could Bloomy’s attempts to ban large soft drinks & Michelle Obama’s nutrition gestapo be to blame!? If you ban the skinny people, tragedys like this wouldn’t happen! Keep America fat! It’s for the children.

  15. I was going to agree with stickeye, but then I remembered the Zimmerman case. Anything you do in that situation would be an uphill battle.

  16. Defensive shooting would definitely be justified here, but damn, would that be ugly. I mean, the dude is hanging over you. It’s going to be messy.

      • In terms of monetary damage and mental trauma I think the attack and the fender bender would be better than having to replace an outfit and the entire interior of a car because you took an emergency shower in the blood of a crazed naked man.

        • Now I’ve got it! Hit the switch to pin him with the sunroof, stop somewhere and buy a knife, then do the obviously necessary surgery on the OUTSIDE of the car. Saves on the messed up interior, your ruined clothes, hell, its all good.

    • And quite loud. A gunshot in a closed car with the muzzle inches from your face would be deafening.

    • I’m sure the assailant goes in for regular STD testing and check-ups between hitting the crack pipe and naked hwy time. No worries.

  17. This actually seems problematic in Ohio. We have this law prohibiting us from discharging a firearm in a motorized vehicle basically unless:
    – You’re an LEO in the course of your duties
    – You’re in a rural area shooting groundhogs
    – You’re a game warden culling animals

    I don’t think there’s any exception in there for needing to shoot in self-defense. The prosecutor may choose not to charge you, but as far as I can tell, you’d still be in violation of the law.

    Anyone know anything more about this law as applicable to a situation like this?

      • Ah, good to know. I figured there was some sanity check in there, but didn’t know what to look for. Thanks.

      • In Texas, we would call it the “necessity defense”, which is what I would use if I were ever to be involved in a DGU with an un-permitted handgun. The Ohio statute sounds like it was designed to prevent “road hunting” rather than actually shooting something inside the vehicle. But still, if the words are there…

    • Motivation is also illustrative. I doubt anyone would bring up such a law since it is intended to prevent hunting from your car/the highway.

    • Typically, “self defense” is not an exception carved out of certain crimes, like murder or manslaughter. It is an affirmative defense to any crime in general.

  18. I heard they booked him for assault with a friendly weapon…… you get it…..ASSAULT with a FRIENDLY weapon…. I kill myself

  19. This is why God invented air-conditioning, so you could drive around with your car buttoned up. The Devil, of course, invented sun roofs.

  20. Your car is a pretty powerful weapon. Assuming you’re belted in & your car has airbags, accelerate to the nearest solid thing. Cars are insured. No need to attempt to pull a gun. Just hit the nearest solid object. Unbelted, upside down, naked lunatic will stop doing what he’s doing I believe.

    • And if the attacker is so high he’s feeling no pain, you may wind up at his mercy and injured from the wreck. Not an attractive option.

    • If you’re going fast enough, half of him will probably continue right on. Still messy.

    • The rest of the story is a tome worthy of Paul Harvey.The reason her insurance company won’t pay for the damage might have something to do with the fact that she stated on live t.v. that she drove into the pole intentionally. She went on in the on camera interview to say that she was going to take six weeks off of work and go to a relatives’ house to deal with this. http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/25558094/woman-says-naked-man-jumped-into-car-in-oak-cliff-attacked-her
      watch the video and make your call. It is cell phone video and you can hear her scream in it. She hit a phone pole at about ten miles per hour. Enjoy TTAG.

    • Obviously laws were no restraint on this man, or as the victim said about the perp, “what a d_ck.”

    • Well of course they were there…trying to pull their SWAT Supervisor out of the sunroof.

    • They had actually been called about a naked man running around in the area prior to this. I almost think that in some drug addled state that their presence made him think he could jack a car and get away.

  23. Note to self: Never get a car with a noon roof, as there’s always a 10% chance of raining men.

    Cher, eat your heart out.

  26. So next time someone goes to one of those self defense classes bring this scenario up.

  27. I doubt many of us would be able to get to our firearms quickly enough to deter a naked, sunroof diver, but …. how about a fellow citizen carrying concealed? Could one of us have helped out the lady?

  29. If someone dives in my sunroof I don’t think I’m going to start driving the car, I’m getting the bleep out and taking the keys with me.

  30. If she had a gun on her, it would have been very difficult in this unique situation to draw it to end the attack. This is a situation that first required offensive and/or defensive use of her hands followed up by the use of a knife. Both of which require training. The discharge of a gun within her car would have likely caused permanent damage to her hearing or eye corneas.

    • Sure thing man, will do. I was wondering if people ever use the forums for TTAG meetups to go shooting etc. If I was a guy with some land (ONE DAY!!!) I’d happily host some camping and shooting etc.

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