Man Arrested After Opening Fire On His Own Car Being Stolen

A man in Atlanta is facing charges after being the victim of a car theft situation.

Investigators told WSBTV that 28-year-old Christopher Rice left his car running near the intersection of 3rd St. NE and Myrtle St. NE just after 9:30pm.

When Rice walked away from his running car, police say an unidentified suspect jumped into the car, threw it in gear, and started to drive away.

Rice, not wanting to be a victim of losing his car, pulled out a handgun and began firing at his own car and the suspect inside as the suspect sped off. Witnesses told police they heard multiple gunshots ring out in the area.

Police arrived and took Rice into custody for reckless conduct and taken to the Fulton County Jail where he's being held on a $10,000 bond, according to jail records.

Later on, officers found Rice's car abandoned, but it's unclear if anything had been taken out of it by the person who stole it. Hopefully, they didn't take anything because they got the message from Rice that he wasn't messing around with the car.

Officers have yet to identify who stole the car, but they are working diligently to identify the man.

Car thefts in Atlanta reached over 900 vehicles stolen from their rightful owners last year, and thefts rose by over 40 percent in 2021, adding to an endemic of theft striking the city, according to Fox 5.

Read more at WSBTV