A pregnant woman was punched and robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of a church while her two-year-old son watched, according to news reports.
Jenna Perkins of Hurst, Tx., said the alleged robber wanted to buy her cell phone, which had been listed on the website OfferUp, according to local station KTVT-TV.
“I just kept thinking, ‘I’m in a church parking lot. I should be OK,’ but that’s not the case,” Perkins said in an interview with the station.
The two met at a local baptist church at the buyer’s request. When Perkins arrived to the empty parking lot and exited her car, a man hit her from behind and demanded she turn over her wallet, according to the report.
“I felt the gun to my head,” Perkins said. The man then punched Perkins as she screamed for help and held her belly. Perkins called the police when the assailant left.(RELATED: Craigslist Robbery Ends With Assailant Getting His Freakin’ Arm Ripped Off)
OfferUp, which functions a little like Craigslist, allows buyers and sellers to communicate privately and arrange meet-ups. Perkins told the station that the buyer she communicated with, a woman, was friendly and asked how far along she was in the pregnancy. “I guess that was her way to make me feel comfortable,” Perkins told the station.
The buyer offered $50 on top of the $700 asking price if Perkins would meet her at the church parking lot. “I keep playing it back in my head. I should have done this, I should have done that,” Perkins told the TV station. “I felt like the worst mother in the world. And that feeling will not go away for a very long time,” she said.
OfferUp said they are assisting law enforcement as they investigate the incident.
“Providing a trusted experience for our users is a primary focus at OfferUp and we are saddened that anyone would commit such a crime,” the company said in a statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation. “We do not tolerate criminal activity and are providing assistance to the Dallas Police Department.”
OfferUp provides advice for safely arranging meetings between sellers and buyers on their website. “Whenever possible, meet at a public location such as a cafe or shopping mall. Take extra caution when meeting about a high-value item, and consider meeting at your local police station,” OfferUp suggests on their website.
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with OfferUp’s statement.
Follow Thomas Phippen on Twitter
Send tips to thomas@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.