Suspected Ala. carjackers arrested in Rankin County; 9-year-old considered hero

RANKIN CO., Miss. (WLBT) - Two Jackson men were arrested in Rankin County, accused of a carjacking in Moody, Alabama.

Moody Police officers tell WBRC that a woman was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday, January 7 as she finished pumping gas.

The woman’s two small children were in the back seat when the robbery was carried out.

Investigators say one of the suspects jumped into the driver’s seat of her vehicle that was parked at the pumps at the gas station. When the woman tried to stop him, the man pointed a gun at her, police say.

As this was happening, her 9-year-old son got out of the rear driver’s side and ran around to the rear passenger side. He then opened the door and pulled his 5-year-old sister from the vehicle and to safety.

The suspect and another man arrived in an SUV which was later found to be stolen out of Jackson.

Police later identified the two as 18-year-old Kendarian Toran and 23-year-old Eric White.

Officers in Alabama and Mississippi were able to track the suspects down using vehicle tag readers and a FLOCK camera system.

Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee says his deputies were alerted that the two were coming through the area and a deputy spotted them on I-20.

After a chase, deputies were able to use spike strips and stop their vehicle.

White and Toran were taken to Rankin County Jail where they await extradition.