MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man thankful to be alive, after he told police two people carjacked him at gunpoint in a restaurant parking lot.
Memphis Police said a 15-year-old boy along with 18-year-old Brandon Boyland carjacked the man in the parking lot of the Taco Bell on Elvis Presley.
The 37-year-old victim told police early Thursday morning two young men came to his car, one at the passenger window and the other on the driver’s side, armed with a Draco-style assault rifle.
“A 15-year-old with an assault rifle, that’s sad, that’s real sad,” one person said.
Parents WREG spoke with were in disbelief to hear of a 15-year-old walking around with an assault rifle at 2 a.m.
“For me, being a parent, I wouldn’t know what to do,” Cardell Fletcher said. “I wouldn’t know.”
They were even more concerned with how the teen got the weapon.
“Guns like drugs,” Fletcher said. “You can get them anywhere now. They’re easy to come by.”
Police said the teens also took the man’s wallet and phone.
They didn’t get far, as just 10 minutes later, police spotted the stolen car at a nearby Mapco. The duo led police on a brief chase before wrecking the stolen car. They were eventually arrested.
This is just another example of a growing problem in Memphis: violent crime among children. It’s a problem that doesn’t have as a quick of a solution.
People who live in the area said it’s going to take everyone to help get the children back on track.
“Everybody gone astray,” one person said. “It’s no more love inside the community. No one looking out for the youth coming up inside the generation.”
Boyland is at 201 Poplar on a $75,000 bond. The 15-year-old will appear in juvenile court.
