Victims of a robbery at a west Little Rock motel told an officer that they chased and fought a gunman before getting back their stolen purses.
The Little Rock Police Department responded around 11:45 a.m. Sunday to a report of a robbery at 200 S. Shackleford Road, the listed address for Americas Best Value Inn.
The victims — a 32-year-old woman from Vinita Park, Mo., and a 26-year-old woman from St. Louis — said someone appeared at their door claiming to be a motel employee.
Both tried to peer through the room’s peep hole, but something had covered the small opening of the door, according to a police report.
They then asked who was at the door, prompting the man to reportedly answer, “Room service.”
Soon after opening the door, the robber, armed with a black semi-automatic handgun, forced his way inside.
Citing information from the victims, an officer noted that the assailant “pulled back the slide to charge it and a live round came out and onto the floor.”
The robber ordered both to start taking their clothes off, and while they did so, the gunman grabbed the women’s purses and ran out of the room, the victims told police.
Police said the assailant got into a burgundy vehicle in the motel’s parking lot but was stopped when the victims chased after him.
One victim broke the driver’s window of his car, grabbed the gunman, pulled him out of the vehicle and began hitting him, according to the report.
Both women continued fighting the suspect until they were able to successfully retrieve their stolen purses, they told the officer.
The man was able to leave with a brown and black wallet valued at $325, about $700 in cash and various cards.
Authorities described the robber as a black man between the ages of 21 and 26 who stands about 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. He wore a red shirt, blue jeans and red shorts and red Nike shoes at the time.
No suspects were named, and no arrests had been made at the time of the report.