A woman visiting California from out of state was heading to the Bay Street mall in Emeryville with a friend Monday afternoon — the mission was merely to return a pair of jeans, KGO-TV reported.
But when they arrived in the parking garage, a nightmare commenced.
What happened?
Cellphone video from a nearby witness recorded the terrifying moments when two hooded men attacked the screaming woman, kicking and punching her on the floor of the garage before robbing her — and then making off with the rental car she and her friend had been driving, the station said.
The victim’s friend, who was driving the car, managed to kick her attacker and run away, KGO reported, adding that no suspects have been apprehended yet.
Here’s the clip:
𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 & 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲: “I thought I was going to get kidnapped.”
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Witnesses share… https://t.co/mqwBDd6xb4— Dion Lim (@Dion Lim)1626389306.0
The woman seen in the video, who does not want to be identified, told the station, “Two guys just ran out and went towards me” and that “they were kicking [and] punching me.”
“It felt so fast … like I just closed my eyes and opened [them] and the car was gone, everything was gone,” she added to KGO.
Image source: KGO-TV video screenshot
The woman also told the station she thought she and her friend were about to be kidnapped but that “it didn’t register in my mind that it was a robbery.”
KGO noted that the attack caused black eyes and bruises and shaken nerves — but both women are grateful to be alive.
Image source: KGO-TV video screenshot
“Very lucky,” the woman in the video told the station, which added that the couple who recorded the video of the attack stayed with the woman until police arrived and were “very reassuring.”
More from KGO:
Emeryville police provided ABC7 News information about recent incidents through their crime statistics reports. Since May there have been at least three robbery and carjacking victims in the Bay Street parking garage. There were also a number of armed thefts at the various stores like Victoria’s Secret, Uniqlo and Lenscrafters.
“If it happened multiple times — the mall, the area, should do a bit more to do … make sure people feel secure, safe when they go shopping,” the woman in the video told the station.
KGO said it reached out to Bay Street’s property manager but didn’t receive a response in time for deadline.
The victim added to the station that she hopes by speaking out, her perpetrators will be caught — and that others will be aware of such dangers: “I think this could have happened to anyone.”