NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A North Miami Beach woman said she felt compelled to fight back when two men robbed her at gunpoint and pistol-whipped her in broad daylight after she had unloaded groceries into her car.
The 67-year-old victim, who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera, said the robbers approached her in a parking lot located near Northeast 162nd Street and 13th Avenue, Friday afternoon.
“They’re all dressed in black, with some kind of black caps,” she said.
The victim said she had just closed the trunk of her car and was getting inside the vehicle when one of the robbers pushed her inside.
“The gun is in his hand, and he puts the gun to my head,” she said.
Meanwhile, she said, the second robber tried to open the passenger door of her car.
Surveillance video caught one of the robbers emerging from the vehicle, followed by the victim, seen with her head down as she walked to the rear of her car.
The woman, who normally uses a cane due to arthritis and other injuries, wasn’t carrying it with her at the time of the robbery.
“This guy is on my right side. This guy is on my left side. He takes the gun, and he starts hitting me, hits my head with the gun, hit my shoulder and my back also,” she said.
The victim was also hit on the top of her head, leaving a gash.
“He hit me a few times with the gun, so my whole face swelled up,” she said.
The victim said the crooks grabbed her cash and checks.
“They took a pouch of money,” she said.
That money included several hundred dollars in charity donations she was going to drop off after her grocery store run.
It was at that point that, the woman said, she fought back. Surveillance video showed her attempting to fend off her assailants.
“As he put his hand in my mouth, I bit his hand,” she said. “I got a hold of it and didn’t let go. I bit his hand.”
The victim said she fought the men because she was afraid they would kidnap her.
Through it all, one of the subjects kept a pistol aimed in her direction, even as he backed off.
The victim, a devout Jew, keeps a book of psalms from the Torah by her side and is surrounded by prayer books at home.
“He has bestowed goodness upon you, continue to bestow every goodness upon you forever,” she said as she read from one of her books.
She said she was attacked just before the Sabbath was to begin that evening, but the next morning she was in temple, saying a prayer of thanksgiving.
“To me, this is extremely comforting, because I wanted to thank God,” she said.
The victim hopes the surveillance video will help police capture her attackers, and she also has a warning to shoppers in her neighborhood.
“Be very cautious about going out to your car,” she said.
Monday night, 7News cameras captured a North Miami Beach Police cruiser parked in the lot where the assault took place.
If you have any information on this robbery or the attackers’ whereabouts, 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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