MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A normal day turned to terror when a woman was nearly abducted from her own driveway. It happened around 10:30 Monday morning in East Memphis at Leonora and Sequoia. The victim was willing to tell us about it but didn’t want to go on camera.
She says she was unloading groceries when a man jumped out of a black Mercedes that pulled up to her house. She says he was armed with a gun and demanded she get in his car.
She says he grabbed her after she threw a bag of dog food at him. The two of them fought as she screamed and struggled to get to her front door. The gunman allegedly threatened to shoot her along the way.
Police say he gave up and got back in his car when the victim threatened to have her dog attack him. Her boyfriend and neighbors rushed to help as the vehicle sped away.
Katie Loft lives around the corner.
“Living here alone. I’ve never been scared, never been worried. But now, you know, it definitely took away my sense of security,” she said.
Dean Franklin lives across the street with his fiancee and their 23-year-old daughter. He says he’s scared for their safety.
“You can’t be here all the time. You can’t watch everybody you love all the time,” he said.
Police are checking with home owners in the area. They hope the attackers face or license plate was caught on a security camera. In the meantime, neighbors are keeping an eye out.
“This woman that lives here is a single woman,” Franklin said while pointing at his neighbor’s house, “This woman across the street is a single woman. There are a lot of single women in this community. So, we have to watch out for them.”
This is the third time something like this has happened since June. The other two incidents happened in Cooper Young but, at this point, police say they don’t have any evidence to suggest they’re connected.