A carjacking incident in St. Louis, Missouri, was thwarted when the would-be thief was offered a prayer by the driver.
An axe-wielding criminal attempted to steal a man’s Audi, but when the driver got out of his vehicle, he was able to diffuse the situation by inviting the carjacker to pray with him.
Carjacker brandishing an axe talked down by praying victim
Local outlet KMOV reported that as soon as the driver began to pray, the suspect gave up and walked away from the scene.
According to a police report the suspect, identified as Romel Taylor, 37, has been charged with first-degree attempted robbery and armed criminal action for the Oct. 18 incident.
Taylor is also facing felony robbery charges in two separate cases, one of which was another carjacking.
The driver involved in that incident said that Taylor came at him with a knife and demanded his car keys while he had his trunk open outside of his workplace.
Taylor reportedly took off in the stolen car, but police were able to track down the vehicle using the victim’s cellphone, which was left inside during the carjacking.
Carjacker who succumbed to prayer has been on a crime spree
In another incident, Taylor is believed to have been involved in a bank robbery that took place on Oct. 20 at the Bank of America on St. Louis Avenue.
Taylor reportely handed a note to a teller demanding cash and insinuated possession of a weapon.
The bank staff did not resist, and ultimately gave the suspect more than $4,000 in cash that he got away with.
According to a spokesperson for the St. Louis Police Department, investigators are actively pursuing multiple cases linked to Taylor.
These cases will be presented to the Circuit Attorney’s Office for further charging consideration, according to CBS News.
“Taylor is believed to be responsible for multiple incidents occurring throughout the City of St. Louis in recent weeks,” a spokesperson for the St. Louis Police Department remarked.
Social media commenters were surprised by that prayer was able to deter the spree criminal from stealing the luxury car, and said that they would have relied on more tangible methods of protection themselves.
“I’d rather rely on something useful…. Like a gun,” someone replied to CBS News’ post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I’ll trust my Glock,” another commenter added.
