Three assailants underestimated a Florida woman when they decided to target her in a robbery, resulting in a wild shootout. Luckily for us, it was all caught on video by a security camera.
An unnamed Florida woman, who breeds exotic French bulldogs, became the target of an armed robbery after posting that she had puppies for sale on Instagram. The post apparently captured the attention of three males, who went to the victim’s house to ask about the dogs. When she let them inside her West Park home, near Fort Lauderdale, things quickly took a terrifying turn.
According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the incident unfolded on a Monday evening around 7 pm. After arriving at the victim’s home and inquiring about the dogs, the unnamed Florida woman welcomed the three males into her home so they could see the exotic French bulldog puppies, estimated to be worth $3,000 to $4,000 each, according to NBC Miami.
Unfortunately, the breeder quickly realized the three males were not there to make a purchase. After the men claimed to know a friend of the victim, a person the homeowner trusted, she decided to call the friend to confirm. That’s when things took a turn. Her friend said he didn’t send the men, but by then, the suspects were already inside the victim’s home. “It was maybe like the most awkward 10 seconds, but I’m just like what’s going on here?” the woman recalled.
After realizing the men weren’t referred by her friend, the woman claims she was then allegedly held at gunpoint and her fight or flight instincts kicked in. After taking two of her puppies, the assailants bolted from the home in a getaway attempt, but things didn’t go quite as planned as the footage captured by the Ring doorbell security camera shows.
Rather than just let the three assailants steal her exotic French bulldog puppies, the woman made a desperate attempt to stop the thieves. As seen in the security camera footage, she rushed out the door after them but not before grabbing a gun of her own. Very quickly, things escalated as a wild shootout unfolded.
“My heart and my adrenaline was through the roof,” the unnamed woman, who was targeted in the robbery, admitted. She also recalled how one of the assailants put her in a headlock with the gun to her head at one point during the horrific ordeal, according to The Blaze. She said she fought back and got into a struggle with one of the males before coming to the realization that her life was in serious danger.
“My stomach was in a knot, and when he had the gun to me, all I could think to myself was, ‘Lord, please, why now,'” she said, recalling how she also thought, “I have to get out of this because they are young kids, and they will kill me, and rob me.” Thankfully, the three males ran out of the house with the dogs, leaving the victim of the robbery alive, but not for lack of trying. After running from the premises, the suspects fired shots at the home.
Moments later, the victim is seen on the security camera video, running out of the house with her own gun and shooting back at the suspects as they fired on her home. “I was not trying to hurt anybody in the mix of it,” the victim said. “My biggest goal is to protect my girlfriend and that was my only goal there.”
Although the woman wasn’t injured, she said that two of her exotic French bulldog puppies were missing, but the thieves didn’t get far as two of the suspects — both just 16 years of age — were quickly apprehended. As police continued to seek the third suspect, his two criminal companions were hit with charges of armed robbery with a firearm and shooting into an occupied dwelling.
Sadly, the damage was already done. The unnamed woman, who police said will not face any charges over her participation in the shootout, explained that she was planning to leave her home out of fear the third suspect might come back before being caught. Her fears are understandable. However, I’d wager to bet that she definitely gave any robber reason to think twice before targeting her again, thanks to the second amendment, and that’s a story with a happy ending.
