MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A mother’s afternoon took a terrifying turn, Wednesday, when an armed carjacker entered her vehicle and threatened her and her 2-month-old baby at gunpoint while asking for sexual favors.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the 26-year-old mother was attending a school function at Acadia Park before 11 a.m., Wednesday morning. Jacqueline Arevalo, a parent, said this was a vocabulary and math parade. When she went back to her Lexus SUV to feed her 2-month-old baby boy, a man entered her vehicle and pointed a gun at her head, demanding she get in the SUV and drive.
“There were a lot of cars parked here,” said Arevalo. “Security guards, Miami-Dade Police officers here. There’s people here 24/7.”
On Thursday, police released a sketch of the man they believe carjacked and sexually assaulted the victim.
“Brazen as it can be, dangerous,” Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said. “While she was attempting to grab everything to feed the baby, he came from the rear and next thing you know, she had a gun pointed at her, saying to drive away.”
He then began to ask her for sexual favors, Zabaleta said. When the mother declined, he pointed the gun at her and head of her baby, who was in a car seat in the backseat.
After groping the woman and demanding she drive a few blocks, he eventually dropped her and her baby off in a residential area in Miami Gardens, along Northwest 171st Street and 38th Avenue.
She then ran for help and called 911.
“She just ran with her baby, screaming for help. They called 911. Officers responded and immediately began combing the area,” Zabaleta said.
As she ran for help, the victim knocked on a nearby neighbors’ door. “She said, ‘Please, help me! Please, help me. He tried to kill me,'” said the neighbor who wished to remain anonymous. “I wanted to help her because she had a baby. Second, this happened to me.”
“She was scared. Real, real scared,” said the woman who aided the victim. “It scared me. It is scary.”
Police said they later discovered the woman’s 2016 Lexus abandoned on the corner of Northwest 178th Street and 33rd Court.
Now, police are asking the community for help. “Urgency here is to let the community know that it all started at Arcadia Park, which is along 195th and Northwest 52nd, and it ended on 178th and 33rd Court,” said Zabaleta. “This whole area is where this individual was last seen to be.”
The suspect remains at large.
The victim described the suspect as a black male, between the ages of 23 and 24 years old, with a skinny frame. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and jeans.
Police hope the sketch will help them catch the man responsible before another incident like this happens again. “He’s willing to pull a gun at a 2-month-old baby sitting in a car seat and then try to sexually assault the mom, he’s willing to do anything,” Zabaleta said.
If you have any information on this kidnapping and assault, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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