PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Port St. Lucie residents are shaken up after police said an 81-year-old man was carjacked in the parking lot of a Publix while his wife was shopping inside.
At 6:23 p.m. on Friday, Port St. Lucie police responded to the 700 block of Southeast Becker Road for a call of an armed robbery of the man, who was sitting in his vehicle in front of the Publix, according to police.
Authorities said the suspect entered the backseat and ordered the victim to drive away while threatening him with a gun.
Officers said the suspect then forced the man to get out of the car in a nearby neighborhood on Southwest Bradshaw Circle, before fleeing the area in the stolen car with the victim's wallet, credit cards and garage opener inside.
"This is a very uncommon occurrence," Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro said. "Thankfully, we don't have that type of crime here in Port St. Lucie, but very brazen and unacceptable."
The victim was not injured, and police said he walked to a nearby home, where a good Samaritan drove him back to Publix and helped him call 911.
"It's no shock to me that people stepped up to help," Del Toro said. "It's a very giving community."
Officers said they immediately issued a "be on the lookout" and notified surrounding agencies.
A short while later, they said Stuart police saw the vehicle at a home on Southeast 16th Court in the city of Stuart.
Detectives said they then arrested Reginald Mitchell, 18, of Port St. Lucie, who faces charges of armed carjacking, robbery with a weapon and false imprisonment.
"That's really scary to even hear something like that," Sheila Peterson, a frequent shopper at that Publix, said. "The bad part about it is, why do they keep hitting the elderly? You know what I’m saying? That's not good."
"Nobody's safe anymore," Don Shaw, who lives not far away, said.
"Yeah, it doesn't seem like it," added Shaw's wife, Maria. "No matter how much protection the city has, there's no way to protect everybody."
Perhaps even scarier for the elderly couple is the fact police said it happened in broad daylight. The Shaws said it crossed their minds that it could have been them.
"Of course, of course, as you get older you think about that like it could be," Maria Shaw said.
Del Toro said the "gun" Mitchell was carrying was actually a toy gun he purchased with the intent of stealing a car.
The Shaws said they were grateful for the police response, which they said made them feel a bit safer.
"We have a wonderful police department," Maria Shaw said.
