VIDEO: Woman fights back as she’s pulled from vehicle in carjacking on New Orleans’ West Bank

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - New Orleans police are searching for a man caught on video stealing a woman’s car in the Behrman neighborhood of the West Bank.

Police say a 36-year-old woman was pulled from her vehicle, punched, and carjacked at gunpoint in the 3400 block of Vespasian Boulevard just before 9 a.m. on Tues., Oct. 25.

In the video, the woman is seen walking out of a building, locking a gate, and getting into her Honda CRV. As she begins backing up, a man sneaks out from behind a bush and approaches the driver’s side door.

The man opens the door and appears to punch the woman before yanking her from the vehicle. Police say the suspect produced a handgun during the altercation.

The woman fights back briefly, but the man speeds off in her vehicle.

“She was pretty brave,” the woman’s son told FOX 8. “My mom was just trying to get her belongings. She got mad but after she got sad because she lost a lot of stuff.”

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Police say the vehicle was found with a flat tire about four hours later and taken to a tow yard.

Neighbors say they constantly hear gunfire in the area.

“All the time,” Brett Fowler says. “It’s very scary.”

While homicide and shooting incidents are up city-wide, armed robberies continue to show the most rapid increase among all violent crimes.

According to the Metropolitan Crime Commission, there have been 240 carjackings in New Orleans so far this year, a 14% increase.

If you have any information that could help detectives, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers at 504-822-1111.

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