Current:Home > StocksA Virginia woman delivering DoorDash was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old -Quantum Capital Pro
A Virginia woman delivering DoorDash was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old
View
Date:2025-04-12 06:15:15
A woman was delivering a DoorDash order in Virginia when she said she was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old and a young adult.
Deon Smith, 40, told Scripps News Richmond she was making a delivery to an apartment complex in South Richmond after midnight on Nov. 30 when she was approached by two people.
"When I was going inside I saw two kids outside," Smith told the outlet. "The little one approached me. I was thinking he was asking for money or something, but little did I know he was pointing a gun at me asking for my keys."
Scripps News reported that Smith tried to de-escalate the situation with the child that she later learned was 11 years old.
"When he told me that he was going to shoot me I was like, 'Are you serious? You want to kill somebody at your age,'" she said. "I was asking, ‘Where is your mom?’ and ‘Why are you out here this time of night?’"
She had kept her car running as made the delivery, and as she was in an exchange with the 11-year-old, the older suspect got in her driver's seat and called out for the child to get in.
In a statement released to USA Today a DoorDash spokesperson said: “Helping Dashers feel safe and supported is a top priority. This violent behavior has absolutely no place on our platform. We have reached out to the Dasher to offer our support and are in contact with local law enforcement to assist their investigation in any way we can.”
The statement went on to emphasis that DoorDash has a 24/7 Trust & Safety team available to assist dashers or community members in emergency situations.
Carjacking's on the rise:FBI agent carjacked at gunpoint in Washington D.C. amid city's rise in stolen vehicles
Police say suspects crashed and totaled car
Smith, whose full-time job is as a home health care nurse said the pair told her to also get in but she refused. Instead, she called the police, who an hour later told her that her car had been involved in an accident and had been totaled.
According to a GoFundMe site made on her behalf by family members of patients Smith has looked after as a homecare nurse, Smith had paid her car off just two months prior. The GoFundMe is raising money to help Smith get to work.
"Because she currently has no car, she is unable to get to her jobs, which makes it challenging to support herself and her 10-year-old daughter. All money raised from this will go directly to Deon so she can get to jobs, and support herself and her daughter," the page said.
The Richmond Police Department did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment but confirmed to Scripps News that two suspects, an 18-year-old and the 11-year-old were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the crash.
They were discharged from the hospital and arrested. They face robbery charges.
Smith told Scripps News that she was just grateful to have survived the harrowing incident.
"Just pray and ask God to protect at all costs, just to keep life, because a car can be replaced, but you cannot be," she said.
veryGood! (93933)
Related
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Missouri governor vetoes school safety initiative to fund gun-detection surveillance systems
- Chevron takeaways: Supreme Court ruling removes frequently used tool from federal regulators
- Argentina, Chile coaches receive suspensions for their next Copa America match. Here’s why
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Whose fault is inflation? Trump and Biden blame each other in heated debate
- Warren Buffett donates again to the Gates Foundation but will cut the charity off after his death
- Judge temporarily blocks Georgia law that limits people or groups to posting 3 bonds a year
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Lighting strike on wet ground sent 7 from Utah youth church group to hospital
Ranking
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- U.S. soldier in Japan charged with sexually assaulting teenage girl in Okinawa
- While Simone Biles competes across town, Paralympic star Jessica Long rolls at swimming trials
- Tropical Storm Beryl forms in the Atlantic Ocean, blowing toward the Caribbean Sea
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Here are the numbers: COVID-19 is ticking up in some places, but levels remain low
- Hawks trading Dejounte Murray to Pelicans. Who won the deal?
- Inside the Haunting Tera Smith Cold Case That Shadowed Sherri Papini's Kidnapping Hoax
Recommendation
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
Whose fault is inflation? Trump and Biden blame each other in heated debate
Environmentalists appeal Michigan regulators’ approval of pipeline tunnel project
Americans bought 5.5 million guns to start 2024: These states sold the most
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Yellowstone officials: Rare white buffalo sacred to Native Americans not seen since June 4 birth
Mount Everest's melting ice reveals bodies of climbers lost in the death zone
Retiring ESPN host John Anderson to anchor final SportsCenter on Friday