GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County man and his son said they were ambushed and robbed while trying to purchase a car they found on the Internet.
Tahir Mahmood told Channel 2's George Howell he found an ad on Craigslist offering a 2001 Lexus IS for $5,500. Mahmood told Howell the ad appeared to be real, so he and his son drove to College Park prepared to buy the car or trade their truck.
"We thought it was a really good deal, so my dad said let's go check it out and see if he wants to trade for the truck. But if he didn't want to trade, we also took cash with us," said Ali Tahir.
When they arrived to the address, the person who placed the ad called Tahir's cell phone and suggested that he come into the house to make the deal. Tahir decided instead to wait in the truck.
"My truck was still running, and I wanted to keep it running because you never know. I was like, maybe I'm being paranoid. My father said ‘I think it's OK, you can turn it off,'" said Tahir.
"All of a sudden, my dad's door opened and there's a masked gunman and he says, ‘Give me all the cash, I know you have $5,500,'" Tahir said.
"He said, ‘I'm going to kill you. Give me the keys, or give me the money,'" said Mahmood.
The gunman hit Mahmood in the face with his weapon and took his wallet, but Tahir said he had the bulk of the cash. Tahir decided to make a move to escape.
"It's a loud truck. It's got dual exhaust so I turned it on and as soon as I did it, I put it in drive and I took off. My tires peeled so I'm sure that drew some attention. I didn't look where I was going, I just made sure I was getting away from him," said Tahir
College Park Police say they are working to determine who placed the ad and to find the gunman.
Police encouraged anyone buying items from the Internet to meet in a public place.
WSBTV
