Police in New Orleans have released surveillance camera footage showing the moment a Good Samaritan’s life was spared thanks to an incredible turn of fate.
The incident occurred around 4 a.m. Friday morning at the corner of Magazine Street and St. Mary Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A surveillance camera from a local business captured the incredible moment when, according to the New Orleans Police Major Offense Log, a man who happened to be driving by saw another man dragging a woman down the street in what he believed was an attempted robbery.
The man then stopped his car and attempted to intervene – and that’s when he became a victim himself, with the suspect holding the Good Samaritan at gunpoint with a sub-machine gun.
For a few tense moments, the intervener pleads with the would-be mugger with his hands up, but to no avail: the man opens fire on the Good Samaritan, striking him in the abdomen.
“The victim explained to the suspect, repeatedly, that he did not have any cash,” New Orleans Police told the Times-Picayune.
“The suspect became enraged and shot the victim once in the stomach and attempted to shoot him a second time, but the gun jammed.”
WATCH: New Orleans Police have released incredible footage showing just how close a Good Samaritan came to being killed at the hands of a would-be mugger.
The man crumples to the floor, while the mugger takes deadly aim at his head. He seemingly pulls the trigger but miraculously, the gun doesn’t fire.
We see him struggle with the weapon and attempt to clear it before pulling the trigger again – and once again, the gun does not fire.
The suspect tries one last time before fleeing down the street, the Good Samaritan’s life spared by an incredible act of fate.
Tulane University President Michael Fitts issued a statement to both local media and to students at the university, identifying the victim as Peter Gold, a fourth-year medical student at the university who hails from Longwood, Florida.
“Peter did his undergraduate work at Tulane, where he was very active at Hillel,” Fitts said in a statement to WGNO News. “Both his parents and sister attended Tulane.”
“I ask that you keep Peter and his family in your thoughts and prayers. He is an outstanding student who represents the best of Tulane in every possible way.”
Gold is reported to be in hospital in guarded condition.
New Orleans Police released the video on their YouTube page in the hopes of identifying the shooter, releasing both his face and details about the vehicle he was driving.
A few days later, police were able to identify the suspect as 21-year-old Euric Cain according to a press release from the NOPD.
He is currently wanted on charges of Attempted First Degree Murder, Second Degree Kidnapping and Armed Robbery.
Police say both Gold and the woman were transported to hospital following the incident. The unidentified woman was released from hospital after suffering minor injuries and is said to be cooperating with police.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately.
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