NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (WSVN) — A university student who was walking in a parking lot suddenly became the victim of an alarming attack.
The 24-year-old college student told 7News she just pulled up to a parking spot when she was surrounded by at least six teenagers, Monday. Signs around the parking lot warn that surveillance cameras will be rolling, and they captured the whole ordeal.
The victim, Heydi, who didn’t want to give her last name, said she couldn’t believe she was in that situation. "It was like, like I was watching a movie or something," she said. "Like it was not happening to me."
When she pulled into her parking spot at her North Miami condominium, she said six teens approached her. "I’m walking towards the elevator, and they sprayed me, but they don’t get me in the front, they get me through the side," Heydi said. "So I turn around, like, ‘What the hell?’"
The suspects sprayed the Keiser University student with Mace pepper spray, then surrounded her before spraying her again. That’s when, Heydi said, one of the teens hit her over the head, causing her to drop her backpack filled with new books for her class.
Heydi said the suspects then demanded her keys and cellphone. "I didn’t want to give the things away," she said. "You hear so many things on the news, on the radio, in stories of these people having guns or knives, and you know, a phone, your car, is not worth your life."
Surveillance cameras rolled as the teens took off in her car, leaving the victim to yell for help. "I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and the guy that I was screaming for, he lives in the corner, and he heard me," Heydi said.
According to North Miami Police, the teenager who used the Mace is described as a black female who stands 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighs between 175 to 200 pounds. She was also wearing a shower cap on her head.
Officials said they want all these subjects off the street. "It’s very bold. They’re dangerous, that’s not something that a child, a teenager should be doing at this time," said North Miami Police Officer Natalie Buissereth. "They should be at home, studying, doing homework, something, not waiting to rob someone."
Police are still looking for the victim’s vehicle, described as a 2015 silver Toyota Corolla with the license plate 407 YPD.
The victim said she is grateful that she was not seriously injured, but she is taking safety precautions. She told 7News she bought new locks after the suspects got away with her purse and her car. "I don’t like to live with fear," she said.
If you have any information on this carjacking, 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.