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Gunman aimed laser at Short Pump abduction victim

Posted at 1:32 PM, Oct 14, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-15 06:55:37-04

SHORT PUMP, Va. (WTVR) - Henrico Police are looking for the man who abducted a driver in Short Pump. Police said Friday night's crime was similar to at least four other recent crimes in the Short Pump-Innsbrook area.

Short Pump carjackingPolice said the victim was getting out of his car about 11:30 p.m. Friday on Quarry Lake Dr., outside an apartment complex near Short Pump Town Center, when a man with a gun approached.

"He walked up right next to me and cocked the gun," the victim in told CBS 6 reporter Jon Burkett in an exclusive interview. "He had a laser shined on my chest. I really thought it was a joke at first. Then I looked up and the laser beam was leading me to the gunman."

Due to safety concerns, the victim did not want to be identified.

"The suspect forced the victim to drive his own vehicle (the victim’s vehicle) with the suspect inside, to a bank ATM in the area," Henrico Police wrote in a media advisory.

The victim said he started to drive to the Wawa near the Henrico-Goochland line, but the gunman said the Wawa ATM was not an option. He then instructed the victim to drive to the First Citizens Bank next to the mall.

But before arriving at the bank, the victim took action.

"It was a red light. There were a lot of things going through my head of course. I honestly did not want to give this man anything," he recalled. "So I popped the car in park. Took the keys out as quickly as possible. Opened the door and jetted to Applebees."

There the victim called police. The suspect also ran off in an unknown direction.

Police described the suspect as:

  • Black male
  • 5’8-6’0
  • 165-185 pounds
  • 20-30 years old
  • Wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and a dark bandana around his face.

Earlier this month, a similar crime was reported along Innslake Drive near the Innsbrook Lake. That crime happened around 1 p.m.

Police asked anyone with information about these crimes to call  Henrico Police at (804) 501-5000 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.