Tulsa Carjacking Victim To Gunman: 'Let Me Get My Baby'

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma – A Tulsa father was not going to let a desperate man wielding a handgun take his family hostage.  He told the gunman, "Let me get my baby," before he gave up his truck to the man who was running from police.

5/31/2011 Related Story: Driver, Gunman Dead After Tulsa Chase And Carjackings

Witnesses described the scene at 21st and Yale as "crazy."

Zac and Amber Wyzard said they were parked in front of Walmart Neighborhood Market when they saw a white pickup truck pull up in front of the door, followed by a Tulsa Police car. Amber Wyzard said she saw a man with a gun, who was wearing white gloves, go inside the store. The Wyzards said they heard about six shots once the man was inside the door.

"We were about to go in, I was eating my taquito and she was like ‘hurry up, it's hot' and we saw this truck come in and I was like 'Thank God we didn't go in,'" Zac said.

"Good thing we waited that five extra seconds before we went in or else it would have been us right in front of that guy," Amber said.

No one inside the store was hurt.

The gunman ran out of the store and tried to carjack a person in a small dark-colored car, but police said the person refused. Police said the gunman shot and killed that person.

Police said the gunman then carjacked a Chevy pickup. The driver, Robert Sanderson, said he saw the gunman jump in the bed of his truck and start beating the back glass.

"I got out of the truck and he had his gun pointed towards me and I said ‘Let me get my baby, and let me get my girlfriend and her brother out of here and you can have it.' I said ‘I just want my baby,'" Sanderson said.

Sanderson was able to get his baby, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's brother out of the truck.

"I feel bad for that guy," Sanderson said. "He's going down the wrong path."

The gunman fired shots as he drove off in the truck, but crashed almost immediately.

Police surrounded the vehicle. When they approached the truck, they found the gunman dead. It's not clear yet how he died.

Stanley Acuff, a Gulf War veteran, compared the scene to a war zone.

"People were jumping out of their cars, running northbound to try and get away," Acuff said.  "I have been in the Army in Desert Storm, and this would rival situations there."

Another witness, Robert Hernandez, was outraged with the gunman for putting innocent lives in danger.

"I just think it's crazy, I mean what is wrong with people?" Hernandez asked. "Why do people feel that they need to do this anytime, but in the middle of the day when there are children and innocent people shopping and trying to do their everyday work? This is crazy."