NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for four men after cameras captured a boy being assaulted and robbed outside his home in Northwest Miami-Dade, Thursday.
Twelve-year-old Danny Machado said he had just arrived home from school when he was assaulted and had his cell phone stolen in front of his home on Northwest 109th Street, at around 3 p.m.
Machado described his reaction. “Shock. I was like, ‘What? Why? No!'” he said. “I did not know what to think. My mind was just jumping from place to place. I didn’t know what to think at all. I was numb. I went fully numb.”
Surveillance video shows Machado checking the mailbox before a silver SUV pulled up in front of the home. A man wearing a ski mask then got out of the car, punches Machado multiple times and takes off with his iPhone 8. Machado can be seen running after the SUV as it speeds off towards Northwest Fifth Avenue.
Machado said he ran after the SUV because the iPhone was a gift from his mom. “My mom spent so much money on that just for me, and I was just like, ‘I need to get that back,’ said Machado. “Whenever she gives me something, I’m always grateful, and I didn’t want to lose that because she cared.”
According to Miami-Dade Police, there were four men inside the SUV.
Machado’s grandmother called police, but by the time they arrived, the thieves were long gone.
Machado was left with scratches and bruises.
The sight of the brutal beating was too much for his mother to bear. “I don’t know if it’s anger, if it’s like fear — I don’t know what comes inside my gut. It’s horrible, I cannot watch it again,” said Machado’s mother Jessica Antunez.
Machado’s family now fears for their safety.
“I could have come home and been assaulted, you know, like raped or whatever,” said Antunez.
Machado had a message for his attacker. “Think about it,” he said. “Think about what you’re doing, think about like is that right to just hurt someone just so you can get a material possession?”
The four subjects remain at large.
If you have any information on this assault and robbery, 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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