LAUDERHILL, Fla. – Lauderhill police are trying to track down a group of thieves using social media to commit armed robberies.
Since Nov. 30, police in the city have been dealing with numerous robberies and a shooting that left a man dead.
“We can have two people out there that are responsible for a whole bunch of chaos in Lauderhill,” Lauderhill police Maj. Mike Santiago said. “Absolutely, it could be that.”
Video from Dec. 4 shows a shooting along Northwest 56th Avenue and 21st Street at around 6:30 p.m.
The victim was trying to sell an iPad. He was robbed and, while walking away, shot in the back.
Fortunately, he survived.
“It’s extremely concerning,” Santiago said. “We understand people are trying to by and sell on these online markets, but we have to pay attention to those red flags. If you see that something that is too good to be true, understand that it probably is too good to be true.”
Lauderhill police continue to investigate all these cases and the similarities between them. They all have very similar MO’s: The victim tries to sell something, is robbed and, in some cases, shot.
Police are warning people to be aware.
“You want to avoid doing transactions at nighttime and you want to avoid going into neighborhoods trying to sell your items,” Santiago said.
Santiago said the safest place to conduct an online transaction is at your local police station.
Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.