Driver fights off 3 would-be carjackers trying to steal his luxury SUV outside NJ grocery store

EDISON, New Jersey -- A driver managed to fight off three would-be carjackers trying to steal his luxury SUV in the parking lot of a New Jersey grocery store.

Surveillance video captured three masked suspects trying to pull the driver out of his car Friday afternoon. It happened before he even finished parking outside the Patel Brothers grocery store on Oak Tree Road in Edison.

The suspects got the driver out and knocked him down, but he fought back and got away from the suspects.

He ran into the store and called police.

His father, the store's owner, spoke out about the incident on Tuesday.

"When I saw the video I was scared, what happened, but then I called and my son said, 'I'm safe dad, don't worry, everything is good, just minor scratches,'" Kaushik Patel said.

The driver had his key fob in his pocket, so the suspects were not able to steal the SUV.

His son is OK physically and was already back to work by Tuesday, but he is still shaken up as it was the second time he was targeted by carjackers. The first time they got away with his Mercedes G-Class SUV.

The mayor of Edison is launching his anti-crime counterattack swiftly.

"We have tripled and sometimes quadrupled the presence of the police force around the streets and patrolling," Mayor Sam Joshi said. "We've also implemented over 80 license plate readers."

He also got Middlesex County to loan him a trailer to set up a police substation in the hot zone where carjackings and home invasions are up.

Leaders are fed up with the crimes and went to the top law enforcement officer in the state for help.

"I just left a meeting with the attorney general and I was with other mayors, a juvenile or a criminal that commits a crime should not go back out on the streets the same week they are caught. It is completely unacceptable," Joshi said.

The incidents mainly involve young teens going after high-end vehicles, according to police. Investigators say the suspects can make tens of thousands of dollars for each vehicle they steal.

Authorities are still searching for the attempted carjacking suspects in Friday's attack.