Marine veteran disarms teen gunman during attempted truck robbery in Maryland

Jheyco Borda says four teenagers walked up while he was working on his truck outside his Oxon Hill home, demanded his phone, truck keys and other valuables, and pointed a gun at his face. The former U.S. Marine says he seized the weapon in the middle of the confrontation and, with help from his brother Peter and father Pedro, held the suspects until Prince George’s County police arrived. Surveillance video captured the encounter on Leyte Drive near Oxon Hill High School around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, 2026.

Borda said the moment turned on a tiny opening. He said he does not use traditional keys and instead starts the truck with his phone, and when the armed suspect briefly looked away, he grabbed the gun. During the struggle, the weapon fired. No one was struck, and the bullet hit the truck, leaving a visible hole. Borda said his Marine Corps training in hand-to-hand combat, weapons safety and split-second decision-making helped him react under pressure, but he also said he would not encourage anyone else to do the same.

Prince George’s County police said the case remains under investigation and that detectives are consulting with the State’s Attorney’s Office on possible charges. Police also said all of the suspects have been identified. The episode lands in a county that tracks reported robberies, assaults, burglaries, homicides, stolen vehicles, thefts and vandalism through its crime portal, and the department says it serves nearly 900,000 residents with more than 1,500 officers and 300 civilians. In neighborhoods like Oxon Hill, a gunpoint robbery involving teenagers is not just a family crisis but a test of how quickly the public-safety system can respond.

Maryland law puts clear limits around self-defense. State court summaries and legislative analysis say a person claiming self-defense cannot be the aggressor, must have a reasonable and actual belief of imminent or immediate death or serious bodily harm, and cannot use more force than the situation demands. Maryland law has traditionally not allowed deadly force in defense of property alone, and common law has included a duty to retreat if that can be done safely outside the home. For residents facing armed robbery at close range, that means a split-second act to survive can still be judged later against a strict legal standard.