Ring surveillance footage captured last Thursday night showed an Illinois mother and daughter robbed at gunpoint in their driveway by two people.
CBS News reports that Michele Pettiford and her 12-year-old child had just returned from a volleyball event when they were targeted by two assailants dressed in black. The incident, according to police, happened in the 9300 block of South Pleasant Avenue in Beverly, a suburb of Chicago.
The video showed one knocking Pettiford down and taking her keys and purse while the other suspect pursued her daughter, who managed to escape inside and call police. The robbery occurred a little before 9 p.m., police said.
“I thought that they might have been my son’s friends because they had hoods up and they looked young and they were kind of lanky,” Pettiford later said. “And I started to kind of like, almost go towards them, because he wasn’t home at the time, and then they started, like, running at me with guns.”
Michele Pettiford’s husband, Jeff, told ABC Chicago that he yelled at the suspects, who, in turn, pointed guns at him and demanded car keys. The suspects then fled the scene in the family’s Audi A7 and some of Michele Pettiford’s belongings.
“There was no fear,” Jeff said. “When they came at me and I looked at them, they weren’t afraid. I’m not small. I came running directly at them and the thought wasn’t, ‘Oh no, let’s get out of here.’ It’s, ‘Let’s turn around and potentially shoot this person.'”
On Wednesday, police arrested 24-year-old Kayla Bell in connection with the incident. She’s been charged with one misdemeanor charge criminal trespass to a vehicle.
Police have not yet provided updates on the exact role Bell played in the incident. No other arrests have been made, but police are actively investigating.
Meanwhile, the victims were not physically injured but are now dealing with the emotional aftermath of the traumatic experience.
“My wife and daughter are getting better every day, but it’s a trauma and you don’t know what it’s gonna do,” Jeff said.
“I think a lot about my daughter and what is this going to mean a week, a month, a year, two years from now? We’re seeking all the professional help that we are supposed to. There’s no playbook for this outside of make sure that we’re talking about it.”
Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: Tiffanie Lucas/Bullitt County Detention Center]
