FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - An item was swiped in seconds from someone’s shopping cart at a Target in Fort Lauderdale— and what was ripped away wasn’t cheap.
A $1,500 Onewheel was robbed from a shopper outside of the store more than a week ago in Coral Ridge Mall along Oakland Park and U.S. 1.
The victim said he believed that because of his white hair, the suspect would think he was an easy target.
“When I got there, I’ve got me a shopping cart and I put the Onewheel on top,” said the 68-year-old victim Vincent Odeh.
Surveillance footage caught the robber following behind Odeh with his cart just after 5 p.m. right before he struck.
“I’m pushing it and I’m almost inside and all of a sudden this guy comes up from behind me and grabs it and I thought it was a friend playing you know, doing a joke on me or something,” said Odeh. “I looked at him and said ‘Oh I don’t know this guy.”
The robber grabs the item and runs to his getaway car, a four-door white sedan driven by a woman.
“He grabbed it and ran and I ran after him, said Odeh. “Oh boy, I was gonna run after him, I was gonna grab him, I was gonna do something. I mean I know a little bit of this, a little bit of that.”
The man went to the other side and then jumped in.
“I opened the door and I was ready to go in, but then he showed me his knife inside, so I go ‘Woah,” he said.
The car got away with Odeh’s Onewheel, which he cannot afford to get another one.
“I wasn’t ready, I was like, ready to risk everything except the knife,” he continued. “I could take a couple of hits.”
A 7News photographer uncovered a piece of evidence hidden in the bushes on Monday night nearby where the incident occurred — The car’s door handle.
“Are you kidding me? It’s sitting right there,” said Odeh in disbelief. “Wow, he yanked the hell out of that, he was in a hurry… Man, that is fantastic, I can’t believe that you found it, I looked all over but I was all shook up.”
The victim said the robbers took off quickly at high-speeds.
He’s hoping someone recognizes the car or his bright red Onewheel and calls Fort Lauderdale Police. He’s also hoping he doesn’t run into the suspect himself.
“He wasn’t expecting me to do anything because he sees me as an older guy but you’re mistaken,” Odeh said.
Police hope that someone out there recognizes this Onewheel, knows who the suspect is and recognizes that white car.
If you have any information on this crime, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.