Man Brutally Attacked While Withdrawing Money From Fort Lauderdale ATM
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A man was brutally attacked by a would-be robber and his dog as he withdrew money from an ATM.
According to Fort Lauderdale police, it happened Wednesday, March 2nd, at 888 NW 62nd Street.
The 68-year-old man said as he was attempting to remove cash from the machine a man and his dog attacked him.
Surveillance video shows the suspect aggressively approaching the man at the ATM and then punching him in the face. When the man fell, the suspect ordered his dog to attack as he repeatedly punched and kicked the man, according to police.
The video shows the suspect then leaving with a woman in what detectives believe to be a white
Hyundai Elantra.
Detectives say the dog is considered a deadly weapon in this case.
Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI special agent, tells CBS4 there are just tons of criminals looking for an easy target and you may never know when you're being watched.
"Cause, I already know where you parked your car I already know the direction that you're going to go," said Kaplan.
Thieves aren't going to just politely ask for your belongings. Kaplan said expect to be met with some kind of use of force.
"And so, we don't ever want to put ourselves in a position where we can feel vulnerable."
The money wasn't even taken out of the ATM during the attack. It went back into the machine.
Kaplan said, "So, you're in already in the process of that transaction, you walk away in the machine, or you take a pause, or you take a step away from the machine you let that person know that you've identified that person. Have your phone, start dialing 911, if that person starts to advance towards you push call."
But these days, he says, don't go to an ATM after hours alone, go with a friend, he says or better yet, skip ATMs like this.
"We can go into a supermarket now and buy a stick of gum and get a cash advance using our debit."
Detectives encourage anyone with information about the attack to contact Crime Stoppers at
954-493-TIPS (8477).
