Niles woman robbed at gunpoint on the way to work

NILES, Mich. --- A Niles woman fought back tears Monday as she searched for answers after an armed robbery at Berrien Woods apartment complex early Monday morning.

The robbery happened at the complex, located less than a quarter mile from the Niles Police Department around 4:10 a.m., according to the victim.

The woman, named Heather, who did not want to appear on camera, said she was headed out for work when the incident happened.

“I was just walking to my car to go to work and I opened up my door to get in the car,” Heather said. “He came from around behind the car and pointed a gun at me and told me to get in the car and not to look at him. It was just, it was really dark and I couldn’t see much for the three seconds that I was looking at him, and he had a gun in my face and told me not to look at him after that, so I didn’t.”

The victim did not see the suspect for long, only capturing a few identifiable factors.

“He was a dark complected man, young man, just a little bit taller than me,” Heather recalled. “He had a really thin hoodie or zip up jacket on and he had the hood up over his head.”

That is when she said the man demanded Heather get into her car. She dropped her backpack, stocked with what she needed for work, on the ground. She did not have a purse or wallet with her.

“And I was sitting in the driver’s seat and he was going through my bag and asked me where the money was and he, when I didn’t give him anything he kept saying I had 20 seconds and I had 10 seconds and five seconds and he’d count down and I still, I told him I didn’t have anything and he finally just grabbed the bag and walked away and told me not to look at him,” she said. “He was really calm. He was counting down, but he never said ‘I’m going to shoot you or, you know, really pointed the gun at me once he had me in the car.”

The incident only lasted about two minutes before the suspect walked away with her phone, AirPods and items she had packed for work, according to Heather.

“I was very clear headed and calm, but I think it was because he was very calm,” Heather remembered. “And he didn’t get aggressive….very aggressive or anything, so I mean I was scared, yeah…but it was like, get out of the situation first and then feel it.”

Heather now wants to make sure others are aware to always be on the lookout for your surroundings.

If you know anything about what happened, contact Niles Police Department right away.