Police are investigating the third recent robbery in which a gunman terrorized families in the Bessemer City and Kings Mountain area. Early Wednesday morning, a Kings Mountain woman reported a man broke into her home and threatened to kill her before making off with $2 and her TV. The incident is similar to robberies over the weekend just five miles away in Bessemer City. But police say there are no ties between the most recent incident and the previous two robberies.
In all three an armed man demanded cash and left on foot. In the two most recent incidents a man snuck inside the homes, took cash and TVs and threatened to kill residents. In the first, the homeowner handed over money but would not let the armed man inside his house.
‘Do you want to die today?’: Wednesday morning in Kings Mountain, a woman who asked not to be named came home to find a man in her apartment. She had left Carolina Gardens Apartments on Pennington Place around 5:40 a.m. to take her daughter to work. Her other daughter, a 13-year-old, stayed behind. When the woman came back home, she came face to face with a gun.
“When I came through the door he was standing behind my living room door with a gun in my face,’ she said. “I thought it was a joke I thought someone was playing with me.” Then the man started demanding money. “I told him I don’t have any money. I don’t have any. And he said, ‘Do you want to die today?’” she said.
She handed over the $2 she had in her purse before he began scavenging the house for more. The man told her to lie face down on her bed while he searched, she said. Throughout the ordeal, the 13-year-old sat quietly in her room. “She heard what he said and just sat in her room very still, very quiet,” she said. “She played it cool, and I’m so glad she didn’t try to come down or anything.” After 15 minutes, the man took a cellphone and the TV before leaving on foot.
He warned her if she called police he would be back, she said. That’s similar to the warning reported by a Bessemer City mother, who said a gunman told her if she called police he would come back to kill her family. Residents at Carolina Gardens Apartments were notified of the situation Wednesday morning, site manager Fran Roseboro said.
“We are going to do all that we can to make sure our community is safe,” Roseboro said. “We’re asking everyone to be wary of their surroundings and if they see anything to call police.”
The suspect had a black cloth covering his face. He’s described as a black male, 20 to 30 years old, standing 5 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 11 inches and weighing around 165 to 175 pounds. He was wearing black jogging pants and a gray hoodie.
Still wanted in Bessemer City: Earlier this week two Bessemer City families reported robberies in which a man demanded money, beat the men who were home and took off on foot. The first was on Washington Avenue around 5 a.m. Friday. The second was four blocks away on Maine Avenue Sunday around 7 p.m.
The victims describe the Bessemer City suspect as a black man, standing from 5 feet 9 to 6 feet tall. He was wearing a brown toboggan and a gray sweat suit. Police believe he was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun.
Anyone with information on any of the suspects is asked to call Kings Mountain Police Department, Detective S.D. Shockley at 704-734-0444 or Gaston County CrimeStoppers at 704-861-8000.
You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.