JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Westside woman and her husband say the were carjacked, forced to the ground at gunpoint and robbed Monday night by as many as six men.
They said they were driving on South Renault Drive, near Jacksonville Heights Elementary School, just before 10 p.m. when men threw rocks at their SUV, then a bottle.
"Well, we pulled up at an intersection and we heard something hit the vehicle, and we weren't sure what it was, so we stopped for a minute, then we started to go and it happened again," said the woman, who didn't want to be identified. "Well, at that point we knew something was going on, and we stopped the vehicle and started to get out, and we were rushed by some gentlemen."
That's when the couple stopped, got out of the car to see what happened, and were confronted with guns. The couple believes there may have been as many as six men wearing hoodies holding them down.
"They were just asking where the money was, where the phones were," the woman said. "I mean, to be honest with you, it was such a blur. I really wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. I was just petrified with fear. I wasn't going to resist."
The couple said the attackers stole their SUV, a 2003 Chevy Suburban. Then they stopped and went back to attack again.
"And he hit me in the back of the head, I think with the gun," the man said. "He pulled my wallet out of my pocket. There was no cash in it, so he threw it down. He was screaming, 'Where's the money, where's the cellphones?' I told him, 'Everything's in the truck, everything.' And they jumped back in the truck and they was gone."
The robbers took the SUV, cellphones and money, but they didn't take the couple's lives. Still, the two who were attacked believe it could have easily turned deadly.
"Oh yeah, there's not a doubt in my mind," the woman said. "They were searching for trouble."
The attack is playing over and over again in their heads, like a nightmare that won't go away. But the couple are doing their best to not let what happened ruined their lives.
"God will handle it in the end. That's who protected us, so. That's all I'm worried about," the man said. "In the end, he is gong to take care of it. So if the police don't find him, they got a final judgement to deal with. It was by the grace of God. That's it."
Police said Thursday they have recovered the SUV, but no arrests have been made. They said they are talking to some persons of interest.
Anyone with any information about the attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.