UPDATE: 10:21 PM WEDNESDAY by Emily Welker
Police say the man they have in custody in connection with Wednesday morning's carjacking at a Moorhead movie theater has confessed. And that has local theater patrons saying they hope this is an isolated case of carjacking -- rather than the emergence of a new trend in crime.
Folks headed into the Safari theater about an hour before sunset said the apparent one-man crime spree wasn't enough to scare them off their evening's entertainment there.
However -- it did make some of them glad they were using the buddy system. The carjacking, which police say developed into a high-speed chase over state lines, ended in a serious crash when the alleged carjacker hit a tree in South Fargo and flipped the car, leaving him with a head injury and trapping him in the stolen vehicle.
The crime surprised people headed to the evening shows at the Moorhead theater, since they're rare for the region.
We asked some of them if they'd let loved ones know where they were going as an extra precaution.
"I let my husband know," said Gretchen Noah, of Moorhead. "But I'm just taking my daughter to a movie. Hopefully it won't happen again, since overall, Fargo-Moorhead is a very safe place to live." Other theater patrons said it was the first such carjacking they'd heard of for the region.
"It's definitely scary," said Nicolette Koehmstedt. "Kind of, grab your keys and run," she finished, giggling nervously.
It's not clear whether local authorities will keep the case for prosecution, or they'll avail themselves of a federal carjacking statute.
Police have a person in custody for an early morning carjacking. It started in South Moorhead when two employees leaving the Safari 7 Theater were threatened by a man with a handgun.
The suspect took off in one man's car, and the two victims followed him in another vehicle for a short time and watched him head toward Fargo on Interstate-94.
Sargent Mike Detloff says a North Dakota trooper spotted the car near the Petro Truck Stop and tried to stop it, but the suspect gave chase. Police estimated speeds were up to 60-70 miles per hour.
Police caught up with him north of the West Acres Mall at 9th Avenue and 42nd Street South in Fargo. Moorhead Police Sgt. Detloff says the man spun out on wet pavement, sheered off three trees, vaulted into the air, and rolled the vehicle about three time before landing upside down. Firefighters had to cut him out of the vehicle, which was totaled.
Police also recovered a handgun they say the driver tossed out of the car during the chase. The Fargo man is facing charges in both North Dakota and Minnesota.
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