SACRAMENTO — A frightening armed robbery was caught on camera. The video shows a brazen and terrifying encounter in a woman’s own driveway. Her family fears this is part of a larger pattern of crimes targeting the Asian-American community in Sacramento.
Out of fear for their safety, the woman and her husband asked FOX40 not to share their identities, but out of concern for others, they insisted we share their story.
Approached by a stranger and held at gunpoint just steps from her front door, a South Sacramento woman gave up her purse but was lucky to escape with her life.
It happened Sept. 7 at about 8:30 p.m., just after the woman pulled into her driveway. As she walks to the passenger side of her car, a man approaches from the left. He walks up, pretends to be looking for a restaurant, pulls out a gun and grabs her arm.
The suspect appears to get upset that the woman is in his way and hits her with the gun. He finally gets into the car, grabs her purse, and casually walks away. The woman appears to keep her cool but admits her heart was racing.
She got such a good look at the gun, she believes she can identify it as a Glock.
Her husband wonders if he’s the one who should be armed. It’s something he never felt he had to consider. He tells FOX40 he’s lived in his South Sacramento neighborhood for 26 years with no problems. But now he’s hearing about the trend of armed criminals robbing Asians near their cars, outside their homes and even in their houses.
“They’re targeting Asian people because they think we have money, cash on hand,” he said.
These crimes have the community and law enforcement on alert, and so far no one had gotten hurt, according to police. However, this family shudders to think how bad their situation could have gotten.
