Imagine you’re in your driveway, saying goodbye to your daughter and grandchildren as they load up in their Mazda for the drive home. Suddenly, gunshots erupt. Two young men appear, yelling for your keys. Your family starts screaming: you’re the victim of a carjacking.

That horrifying moment happened to Heather Allen and her family on a quiet Friday night in west Jackson.

“They kept hollering, ‘Give me the keys! Give me the keys!’” Allen recounted. But half her family was already buckled in. Her daughter panicked and screamed, “My babies, my babies are in the car!”

Allen’s grandchildren sat trapped in the backseat while the suspects demanded the car at gunpoint. “My oldest granddaughter was screaming, ‘MiMi, help me! Get me! I’m scared!’” Allen said.

The suspects jumped into the Mazda but struggled to start it. Allen had to think quickly. With her grandchildren’s lives at risk, she came up with a solution.

Allen threw the keys to her own car on the ground. The attackers grabbed them and sped off.

Parents turn in their son after carjacking family

The suspects didn’t make it far. Police recovered the car abandoned just two streets away. However, the suspects had already fled.

Days later, one suspect’s parents recognized their 14-year-old son in the viral video of the family carjacking incident. They brought him to the Copiah County Sheriff’s Office.

Police charged the teenager with carjacking and six counts of aggravated assault for intimidating family. They obviously considered him a flight risk, and perhaps decided to make an example of the youth: his bond stands at $1.75 million. Meanwhile, efforts to locate the second suspect continue, according to Jackson Police.

A family in fear after carjacking

Allen and her family remain deeply shaken. “I’ve been barricaded in there. I’m not sleeping,” Allen said. Her son now suffers from severe anxiety, and her daughter remains in shock. Fearing retaliation, the family relocated to Batesville. “I’m scared,” Allen admitted. “I don’t want them coming back.”

Police impounded Allen’s stolen car for fingerprint analysis. “The cop said the car looks good, but I can’t get it until they investigate,” Allen explained.

Caught on camera

The attack was captured in its entirety on a Ring doorbell camera. The footage reveals two armed suspects creeping up on the family, firing shots, and forcing them out of the car.

Allen’s bravery in throwing her keys saved her family. However, the raw footage has left the community unsettled. You can watch the full video from Heather Allen’s doorbell camera embedded below: