Gwinnett County

Woman attacked during home invasion after posting car on Craigslist

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County woman said she's learned a lesson after trying to sell a car online.

Investigators believe that might be why the family's duplex near Lilburn was targeted by two home invaders last week.

The victim doesn't want her identity revealed, but told Channel 2's Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Tony Thomas how she was punched in the face and her home was ransacked at gunpoint.

She said as soon as she opened her front door, a man asked her, "Hey, how are you doing? Where is the car?"

She said right after she told him, "The car is not here," one of the men pulled out a gun and put it to her head.

Through a translator, she told Thomas, "They started to ask me for money and because I didn’t understand them very well, they were very angry with me."

The victim said while one man held her on the couch, the other went through the house.

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"They took my laptop and threw it at the floor and did the same with our TV," she said.

The family said the gunmen found $4,000 they'd saved in a piggy bank. They then headed for the front door, but not without a warning.

"Before they left my home, one of them hit me in the face and told me I don’t have to call the police," the victim told Thomas.

The woman's lip is still bruised one week after the attack.

Gwinnett County police said this is the first Craigslist-related crime they have investigated in awhile, but they always advise people to meet in public places instead of at homes or other secluded areas.

"Things like that were created with good intentions, being able to sell your items and connect with people. It's unfortunate some people have taken that and made an evil thing out of it," said Cpl. Edwin Rundles.

He told Thomas officers have little information to go on.

"They both had on long pants. They both had grey shirts on. One had multiple tattoos on his arms and they were both wearing gloves. It was a very limited description of the way they had covered themselves up," he said.

The victim hopes no one else makes the same mistake. She's praying the two men are caught.

"I was really scared. I believed they would kill me. Thank God my daughter was not home from school yet," she said.