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Jun 24, 2008 9:38 pm US/Central
N. Texas Mother Escapes Being Robbed At Gunpoint
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A North Texas mother was robbed at gunpoint while getting money out of the bank. Thanks to her quick thinking, she was able to escape.
It happened at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Bank of America near Seminary and I-35. Gabriela Perez stopped at the ATM on her way home from work so she could get money to pay her phone bill.
Police say the suspects may have been camped out at the bank waiting for someone to rob. As soon as Perez drove up to the AMT, they were at her window with a revolver. She said the gun was pointed at her head.
"They were yelling at me the whole time," she said. "He said, 'Go ahead and take the money out of the machine.'"
But she kept her cool, and that played a key role in her escape. "I don't want to die," she said.
The 37-year-old says she couldn't stop thinking about her six-year-old son who just had surgery on both of his legs. After one of the robbers reached in her truck and put it in park, she decided she had to do something.
"I tell him there's a police officer. When they turn around to see if there's a police officer, I put my truck in drive and I left," she said. "I don't care if I hit them. I just run away."
Police say that's exactly what you should be thinking.
"If that's the case, you want to do whatever it takes to get out of that situation," said Fort Worth Police Lieutenant Paul Henderson.
Police encourage others to always have a plan in case something bad happens.
"If that means pulling forward and making your way through someone that is attempting to rob you and do you harm. Then that's what you do," Henderson said.
The robbers got away, but police are reviewing the video from the surveillance camera on the ATM to see if it shows the suspects' faces.
"If they don't do nothing to me, maybe the next person they shoot or something," she said.
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