Maryland Lyft driver thwarts carjacking with pepper spray and knife

A Lyft driver in Prince George’s County, Maryland, successfully defended herself against a carjacking attempt by a 17-year-old assailant wielding a knife. The driver, identified as Angie or Alice, feigned compliance during the robbery before using pepper spray to disorient the attacker. She subsequently engaged in a physical struggle and used a knife to thwart the attempt.

The assailant fled the scene but was later taken into custody by police while still suffering from the effects of the spray. Self-defense expert Massad Ayoob, President of the Second Amendment Foundation, noted that the encounter involved a ‘disparity of force,’ suggesting that using a deadly weapon like a knife may be legally justified if a carjacker poses a reasonable threat of deadly force.

Legal scholars have pointed to Supreme Court precedents, such as Caetano v. Massachusetts, to highlight that the Second Amendment’s protection of ‘arms’ extends to various instruments beyond firearms, including knives and stun guns.