Father pistol-whipped in front of children during Facebook Marketplace exchange, police say
The victim arrived at the exchange with his wife and three children in the car.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A man has been arrested after Metro Police said he pistol whipped a father in front of his family during what was supposed to be a Facebook marketplace exchange.
A man, his wife and his three kids went to a parking lot along Couchville Pike to buy construction equipment they found on Facebook marketplace, police said.
When they got there, police said another person, identified as Robin Weatherall, 18, jumped out and approached the victim and the seller.
Weatherall pointed a gun at the men, according to an affidavit, and then pistol-whipped the father in the back of the head, while the victim’s family remained in the car.
Weatherall began demanding money and made the victim get on the ground, police said. The victim’s wife then started to record parts of the robbery with her phone. As Weatherall went through the wife’s purse, she got a close-up video of the suspect’s face police used to help identify him.
Weatherall stole $700 in cash from the victims before driving away with the seller, police said. Weatherall has been charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and vandalism over $1,000.
This is the latest in a string of online exchange incidents. Just last month, a Madison teen was shot in the head during a similar incident as he was selling an electric scooter on Facebook Marketplace. This past Friday, Mt. Juliet Police said shots were fired during an exchange at a shopping center parking lot.
Mary Everett has bought things on Facebook Marketplace before. She said there are a lot of deals online but you have to be extra careful and look out for red flags.
“Why would you meet up with someone in the middle of the dark with cash?” Everett said. “There are so many other ways to pay for something bought online. It’s just not safe.”
Metro Police said the best place to meet up with someone for a sale is outside one of their precincts. Every lot has security cameras and officers nearby to help if something goes wrong.
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