Violet Ripken, the mother of baseball legend, Cal Ripken Jr, thwarted a carjacking at gun point on Tuesday, less than a year after she was kidnapped for over 24 hours.
The 75-year-old had parked her automobile in a Maryland bank’s parking lot of when the incident occurred. Violet was approached outside of Aberdeen’s NBRS Bank by a suspect at around 3pm who then demanded the keys to her car.
However, Violet was able to dismiss the attacker as she activated a panic button on her key fob that set off an alarm.
Lt. Frederick Budnick, a spokesman for the Aberdeen police department, confirmed that Miss Ripken wasn’t injured in the incident, and that they now have the suspect under arrest.
Budnick confirmed that the armed man demanded Violet Ripken’s Honda sedan, which lead her to then press the button and caused the man to flee the scene. Violet then walked into the bank and reported the crime. Jesse Bowen was arrested around 2 hours later in connection with the attack.
Bowen had come to the police’s attention a week before, after officers had a run-in with the alleged assailant. He has now been charged with attempted armed robbery, armed carjacking, possessing a dangerous weapon, and first-degree assault.
This comes less than a year after Violet Ripken was abducted from her Maryland home by an armed individual. She was found 24 hours later, tied up and blindfolded in the back of her car, near her home in Aberdeen, Maryland.
In August, Cal Ripken Jr. , a member of the Baseball Hall Of Fame, tried to reignite interest in the case by putting up a $100,000 reward for any information regarding the man who kidnapped his mother.
At the time, Ripken stated, “We would like to get closure on this case and give all of us some peace of mind.”