A North Carolina man was assaulted and robbed by four armed suspects and the incident was captured on a neighbor’s video doorbell device.
The man had stepped out to buy a few lottery tickets and when he returned to his Fayetteville, N.C. home around 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday, he was attacked outside by four armed male suspects who had their faces partially covered, ABC 11 News reported.
After the suspects beat and bloodied the man, they forced him to unlock his door and give them entry.
The suspects held a gun to the man, and one said, “Open this door or we’re going to kill you.”
Another suspect started counting down from five.
The unidentified man’s fiancee was inside the home with her infant and 4-year-old when she heard something going on outside and opened the door.
The video was captured by the Ring device, whose makers have partnered with Fayetteville police for previous investigations and crime information with the “Neighbors” app.
The Neighbors app, which allows community members to upload and share videos such as this in an effort to detect and record any suspicious activity and send real-time emergency crime alerts, which has proven helpful to the police in crime-solving.
Once inside, police say the four men ordered the victims to lay on the ground and then stole cash, cell phones, debit cards, the lottery tickets and some marijuana.
The fiance and small children were not physically harmed during the robbery.
On their way out, the suspects smashed the Ring doorbell camera but that didn’t destroy the evidence.
Fayetteville police spokesperson Shawn Strepay said, “It is definitely concerning especially if you’re living in that neighborhood or if you are the victim yourself. As of right now, we’re obviously very early on in this investigation, but our detectives do have some information saying that this may not be a completely random incident.”
Major James Nolette said, “This is just another opportunity for us to be able to share information with the community but also for the community to be able to share information with us,” ABC 11 News stated.
The victim declined to comment.
According to the Fayetteville Police Department, the case is under investigation and considered to be a robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to call the Fayetteville Police Department or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-8477.
