FORT WORTH, TX — A man who made the unwise call to bring his wife and kids to a classified ad sale found himself in the fight for his life when his seller turned out to be just one of several attackers out for his cash.
Funnily enough, the firearm that saved his life — a Hi-Point .380.
As The Sacramento Bee reports:
Roberto Rodriguez, of Richardson, Texas, wanted an affordable iPhone for his 11-year-old daughter, so he turned to Facebook Marketplace. He had no idea before the exchange was over, though, he’d have to shoot two people.
While Rodriguez was at an Easter party with his family on April 1, he thought he’d found the right deal —$175 for an iPhone 7 — so he and his wife Fernanda took their three kids to the east Fort Worth apartment complex the seller directed him toward.
“I was about to go alone,” Roberto told the Star-Telegram. “I should have gone alone.”
They arrived around 8 p.m… where an 18-year-old named Otis Lenoie was waiting for him in the parking lot, Rodriguez said. When he got out of his SUV, Lenoie and three other men attacked him — punching, kicking and dragging him to the rear of his vehicle while Fernanda and the kids watched, horrified. Roberto began to crawl back toward the car, where he kept “a cheap little Hi-Point .380” in the door, he said.
“I’m pretty sure their plan was to rob me completely,” Roberto said. “Like steal my SUV and my wallet. I had $1,800 in my wallet because earlier I wanted to buy a money order to pay rent but didn’t get a chance.”
According to The Sacramento Bee, Rodriguez was able to get hold of his firearm and fire off 5-7 rounds at his attackers, wounding two and sending a third packing. Fernanda reportedly grabbed a screwdriver in the car and attacked one as well.
All in all, Rodriguez was glad for one thing above all: his God-given rights.
“I’m so thankful for the Second Amendment,” Rodriguez said. “But people also need to watch out on these exchanges from Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. It’s not always safe.”
Amen to that. Although the Facebook marketplace can be a little safer than Craigslist because there are generally faces attached to sellers’ names and with them chances to vet sellers, it’s also pretty easy to falsify profiles for just such activity.
And as a side note: don’t carry $1,800 in your wallet if you can help it.
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