Teenagers defend themselves against attempted car theft at gas station in South Texas

SOMERSET, Texas – It was a scary situation for three teenagers in Somerset over the weekend.

When they stopped to fill up near Loop 1604 on Saturday night, they had to fight off a man who they said made multiple attempts to break into their car.

Seventeen-year-old Gideon Gomez and his friend knew something was wrong when they were filling up their car on Saturday night and were approached by a man who they described as being covered in blood.

“It was very scary … But I knew I had to do something instead of doing nothing,” Gomez said.

Gomez hesitated to defend himself. They had tried to help the man, but they sensed that he did not mean well.

“He looked at us and turned his head to the handle… and opened it… and as soon as he opened it… I reacted super fast,” Gomez said.

Gomez's sister Savannah said they never intended to hurt anyone, but it just takes a few seconds for something to happen. Gomez said he was in “fight or flight” mode.

“I was like, 'Am I dreaming? Am I in an action movie?' like what's happening right now?” Savannah said.

Her mother, Kristie Guerra, said she was eternally grateful for her son and his friend's response.

“Nobody expected Gideon's reaction… their reaction… but I'm so glad they did,” Guerra said.

KENS 5 spoke with store clerk Debra Alt, who said she saw surveillance footage from that night. Alt said the same man who tried to steal the teen's car had also tried to steal another person's car just 30 minutes earlier and got into an argument with that person.

“It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it… if that had been my child,” Alt said. “I'm glad they fought back and didn't let him take the car, because that's still abuse… that's still manipulation.”

Alt said surveillance showed the man fighting off the suspect and telling him to leave, but he didn't. Then she saw him go after the children.

“If you need to fill up, do it beforehand, avoid gas stations at night, especially if you are young,” Guerra said.