Associated Press


HOUSTON -- A football player drafted by the San Diego Chargers has
been wounded twice in a shooting during an attempted carjacking in
Houston.

Terrence Kiel, 22, was in his car at a Houston mall yesterday when he
was shot by a young man who approached his car. Kiel was shot in the
abdomen and leg and is reported in stable condition today at Ben Taub
General Hospital in Houston. Houston police spokeswoman Sandra Aponte
says that the man who fired several shots fled on foot from Kiel's
1983 Buick Park Avenue and then got into another car. The assailant
was described as in his late teens or early 20s. Kiel, formerly a
defensive back at Texas A&M, was drafted by the Chargers as a
candidate to play strong safety. Kiel made an interception late in the
Aggies' game against Oklahoma last November to seal A&M's victory over
the Sooners -- who were the nation's top-ranked college team going
into that game. Kiel also played in the East-West game for outstanding
college seniors. The Chargers picked Kiel in the second round of the
NFL draft in April.


I find it hard to believe someone was 'carjacking' an 83 Buick....must
be more to this story than they are reporting right now.

-DANZO-

Actually, older cars are often carjacked, because 1) newer cars are
tougher to trace, and many of them have GSP and lowjack built in. 2)
often the car is not being stolen because it is valuable, but because
the jacker needs transport in a hurry or is setting up a getaway car
for another crime.

Most carjacks are to sell the car and there's a list of popular
brandsl, starting with I believe the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but older
cars do get taken.

Best, R.E.F.

What do you mean by newer cars are tougher to trace? That would make a thief
want to steal them even more.

My only thought is the hope that Kiel is OK. At this point, football is
secondary to the young man's life.

I found this story on the Houston Chronicle's web site, and this is pretty
much true except that the Chronicle said he was shot 2 times, not two; once
in the abdomen and twice in the leg. He's listed in good condition and it
does not appear to be life-threatening.

I think that was a typo

Why would the guy want to carjack an old boat when he had a ride to escape
in? To be honest with you it almost sounds like a drug deal gone bad. I was
raised in the wrong part of town so I know most jackers don't want to steal
an 83 Buick, even to use it in another crime. They would look for something
smaller and newer so that it didn't leave them stranded on the side of the
freeway, and so that it could be more elusive in a chase. The guy didn't
want it for a joy ride, becouse he already had a car. This is very
confusing. I saw one report that states they talked for a bit and then shots
were fired, not your typical car-jack.

typo

I saw a report on TV last night that said that Kiel did not seem to know the
assailant, the man walked up to the car, spoke for a few minutes then shot
Kiel 3 times. Afterward he jumpedin a car and sped off. The report was not
clear whether the man was alone or whether someone else was driving the car.

The Bolts' website has a short story and links to 6 or so newspaper reports
on the Kiel shooting. All of them say that Kiel's injuries are not seroius,
he will required minor surgery and should be OK in a couple of weeks.

Guy's a safety and got shot in the knee and ankle, and they're saying
it's not serious. Either someone is being very optomistic or he is one
lucky sob.

Best, R.E.F.

They wanted his rims. Probably worth more than the car.

Iceberg

The one he escaped in can be traced - its lic. plate and owner are
linked. If you are going to rob a bank or make a big drug deal - you need
a car traced to someone else. One not likely to have any tracking devices
- like LowJack or whatever.

Well research would disagree with you - for crimes - stats show most
older model cars are more likely to be stolen - its not about comfort or
class - its about conv.


They plan on there being no chase - it only needs to run for a few
minutes and if you look at the side of the road - more new cars seem to
be there then the "old boats"

You just said it there yourself - not for a joy ride - just a ride -
older cars are easier to steal and less likely to be traced/tracked.

This is very confusing. I saw one

"a bit"? Could have been _ "Get outta th'car" - "NO" "I said get out.
now!" "F*ck You!"....ect. then Bang Bang. There you go. Thats talking for
a bit. Seems demented to me that you are somehow making a victim somehow
guilty until proven innocent of something he isn't even accused of.
Somehow - its his fault. What is the world coming too?

Cars can be stolen in any side of any town - I myself am from NY and we
have more then a few "bad sides of town" and most other cities "bad part
of town" would be heaven on earth in comparison.

But according to just about ever cop I know and all research done on the
subject - your a bit off here.

[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/prevention/oldercars.shtml[/url]

"According to government figures, older cars are up to five times more
likely to be stolen than newer models, with cars between 12 and 13 years
old at greatest risk. It's worth noting that 80% of all cars stolen are
seven years old or more."

and thats in the UK (as it seems Canada and the UK have spent much more
time studying the subject).

It still bothers me that because he was shot, he is young, he is black,
he is coming into money - it somehow must be his fault, and he (in your
mind) is guilty of something.
He is the victim here and you are assuming something for no real apparent
reason.

Older cars are easier to steal and easier to get rid of quickly, and less
likely to be located or have a location system.

This car was 20 years old, almost twice the age of your typical stolen car.
As far as parts, you can go to a local u-pull it and find parts for Buicks,
and probably cheaper than a chop shop.

Actually, the whole thing doesn't really strike me as beng a carjacking,
despite what's being reported. It sounds more like an enraged husband or
boyfriend kind of thing.

OK - so some new cars have them and how likely is an old car to ahve it?
Now if you were looking for a car for a quick job and ditch - which would
you take a chance on? The fact I was tring to show is that they don't
choose these cars based on age - they actually prefer it not to be new.
After that its just chance. Which ever car comes along at that time -
thats not new is more often the criteria. Now the average car on the road
is in the highest %. But its just that they choose older and the most
common older car is about 7 to 12 years old. Its not like they stand
there and say "No not that one its more then 12 years old." They just
want older (because they are very likely not to have any tracking
devises) and then that would usually be the ones in that age group. 20
year old cars are not that common to begin with. It wasn't going to be
used for chop shop - but probably for buying/selling/or transporting
drugs or some other crime and then ditched.

And I was looking at new cars and not BMWs or Lambergini's - A new Chevy
Impala has the tracking in it - A new Tracker and the one I liked the new
Monticarlo (sp?) had it. So your "average 2003 car will not have a
location device" seems to be wrong from what I've seen first hand of $20K
cars (hardly "top end")

*Monte Carlo

How many people have tracking systems in this group? If so, what car do you
have it in?