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The Lexus became stuck in a ditch, so the driver jumped out and joined her partner in the stolen truck.

“They were trying to ram us to get out, and then that’s when the gun was pulled on us to get out of the way,” remembers Phillips. “We stayed there and wouldn’t move. Unfortunately, they snuck around us in the ditch and got away.”

Police arrived shortly after and are still looking for the duo.

When asked why he intervened, Phillips said, “The police tell us we shouldn’t do anything, to just let them go, but I’m a farmer and this is my livelihood. You come on my property and mess with my family — that’s my whole life right there.

“My family comes first. I’ll protect them through anything.”

Phillips said his wife called the police around 10:30 a.m., but officers didn’t arrive until about 40 minutes later.

“The cop in Sundre said they took 11 minutes to get out there,” said Phillips.

“If they took 11 minutes, I’m fine with that, but why weren’t they dispatched sooner then?”

Sundre RCMP were not available for comment Saturday.

Phillips said his experience isn’t unique.

“We’ve had enough of it. We hear about it every week in these rural areas — stuff getting broken into, people’s houses, people’s trucks.

“I mean, it needs to stop.”

In February 2018, Edouard Maurice, an Okotoks-area rancher, fired warning shots when he saw people breaking into his vehicle. One of them was slightly wounded and Maurice, the homeowner, was charged with aggravated assault and firearms offences. The charges were eventually dropped.