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'I didn't want to die' | Cubs fan visiting St. Louis carjacked outside Airbnb

Florissant police made a traffic stop on the man’s car hours later. They said the people in the car ran, but one juvenile was arrested.

ST. LOUIS – What was supposed to be a fun father and son trip turned into a nightmare for two Cubs fans.

A 55-year-old man and his 16-year-old son came to St. Louis to watch the Cubs take on the Cardinals.

The two went to all three games. 

The man and his son asked 5 On Your Side to not identify them. The 55-year-old said he’s always stayed in an Airbnb on vacation and the one he was staying in had positive reviews. It was in St. Louis’ Southampton neighborhood – in the 5300 block of Murdoch.

Early Wednesday morning, the 55-year-old said he went to go get groceries around 12:30 a.m., he said the food options in the area were limited. Once he got back to the Airbnb, he parked his car and went to grab his groceries, which is when an unknown teen approached him from behind.

“I had a gun pointed to me, it was pointed to my face… I struggled with the person holding the gun and I got hit,’ He said.

The suspect who approached him shouted, “Give me the key!”

‘I didn’t want to die, I attempted to fight back – but in that process he struck me and then I went to the ground and I fell awkwardly and hurt my left arm,’ he said.

The suspect then got into the man’s car.

He said he was going to try to stand up and then he realized there was another teen with a gun. The teen demanded his wallet and then got into the car and fled the scene.

Police said they believe one of the suspects was 16 to 17 years old and the other suspect was 11 to 13 years old.

The man’s 16-year-old son was inside the Airbnb when the carjacking occurred. He said he texted his son to help him get the groceries out of the car, but he didn’t respond. He said he was glad his son was tired and sleeping during the incident.

“I was thankful he didn’t answer the text to get the stuff out of the car, because I had texted him and asked if he was awake,” He said. “I don’t know what would have happened if he would have come down the stairs.”

Florissant police made a traffic stop on the man’s car hours later. They said the people in the car ran, but one juvenile was arrested. Police have not released any other details.

The man has not gotten his car back. He took a rental car back home. 

“Nothing is a guarantee, I don’t know why I’m here… I don’t know why the young man didn’t shoot me,” He said.

The man said he will continue to use Airbnb.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s crime statistics, the Southampton neighborhood did not have any carjackings in 2018 and this is believed to be the neighborhood’s first carjacking this year.

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