Teen Robbed At Gunpoint Speaks Out, Thanks Neighbor Who Captured Crime On Camera
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The Broward Sheriff's Office says they need the public's help to find a man who robbed a 19-year-old woman at gunpoint as the teen walked home from school Wednesday afternoon.
An alert neighbor captured the crime on cellphone video.
The victim asked that we call her Maria. She told reporters that as she walked home she knew someone was behind her.
"I hear someone's footsteps getting closer and closer," she explained. "(Then) I felt something in my head and in my ribs."
She quickly realized it was a gun and that she was the victim of a crime.
"He showed me the gun and he's like, "Give me everything. Give me everything.' And I was in complete shock. I was like, 'OK, you can have everything,'" she said.
Maria said the thief took her book bag, cellphone, personal items and important notes for an upcoming exam.
Here's the bizarre part of the story – Maria's neighbor, Keith Bankston, thought there was something suspicious about that guy so he took out his cellphone while he sat in his car and started recording.
First, Bankston said, the guy was a wearing a hoodie in the Florida summer and second, Bankston nearly ran into him seconds earlier and the guy didn't even react.
"He was so focused on that girl," Bankston said.
Bankston – a former cop – said he watched the crime and then sprang into action trying to catch the crook. But the thief got away.
"It bothered me what he did in this neighborhood," Bankston said. "You offended everyone and we don't appreciate it."
But Maria appreciates her neighbor.
"I really appreciate him," Maria said. "I'm really thankful that he did all that."
She's wants this guy caught and wants her sense of security back.
"It's so bad," she said. "You just don't feel secure at all. You feel like everyone's following you. Like someone's after you."
Bankston said he was able to get a partial license plate number on that gold Saturn that the thief jumped into after the armed robbery – JMM 02.
If you have any information on who the thief is, call Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.
