NORTH LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A woman was walking home in North Lauderdale when all of a sudden an armed man robbed her, authorities said. Thankfully, an alert neighbor filmed the entire incident on his cellphone.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the victim, a 19-year-old Broward College student, was headed home around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday when all of a sudden a man approached her from behind along Southwest 16th Court.
The man pulled out a gun from his waistband and placed it on the left side of her neck. Then, authorities said he quickly stole her backpack and her LG G Stylo cellphone. “I was like, ‘Is that a gun?’ I couldn’t even believe it,” the victim said.
As this was happening, Bankston noticed the peculiar manner in which the suspect was approaching the woman. Bankston, who happened to have a history of working in law enforcement, quickly pulled out his phone and recorded the interaction. “‘Is that a pipe? Is that a gun?’ And then he put it up to her and she went like this, he pushed her to the side. I said, ‘Was that real?'” said the victim’s neighbor, Keith Bankston.
He said he initially began recording because the young man in the hoodie darted in front of his truck. “If you run in front of someone’s car, you go, ‘Oh, I’m sorry! Excuse me,'” Bankston said. “He didn’t do that. He didn’t pay attention to me. I had to stop or I’d hit him. He was so focused on that girl.”
However, what Bankston thought would be a harmless prank turned out to be a robbery. “I looked and I saw his face, and he came around and he showed me the gun, and he’s like, ‘Give me everything!'” the victim said.
Neighbor George Cressman said he saw the robbery also. “I tried to tackle the guy after I saw him snatch her purse and I missed him,” Cressman said.
That’s when Bankston tried to chase the burglar. “And he actually hopped the median and came all the way around and ran about four cars, and I was like, ‘I can’t, I can’t do it,'” he said.
He said that he wishes he did things differently. “Instead of ‘What is he doing’ to see what happened, I would have been proactive and said, ‘You know that guy coming up on you?’ Bankston said. “You know, and that’s my regret.”
Despite the fact that Bankston didn’t catch the theif, the victim is thankful that Bankston tried to help. “His action – I really appreciate him,” she said.
Police describe the suspect as a black male who stands about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He was wearing a black hoodie, a white T-Shirt, red basketball shorts, black socks and black and white slippers.
He was last seen in a gold colored Saturn, that apparently was driven by a getaway driver.
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 $3,000 reward.
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