Bay View woman held at gunpoint by man trying to steal her dog

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee woman is still processing what she calls the scariest moment of her life, when an armed man tried to steal her dog.

The violent interaction happened in a quiet, residential part of Bay View, just across from Santino's Little Italy on S. Hilbert Street.

"I started feeling like I was being watched, like someone was behind me," Connor remembers.

She was walking her 3-year-old French bulldog, Honey, around 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, when her worst nightmare came true.

"A man jumped out around the corner in a ski mask and a gun, and he pointed the gun right in my face," Connor said.

She said the man demanded she hand over her dog, but Connor refused, covering Honey with her body.

"That would have killed me to lose her," she said. "I might die now, but at least I'm dying trying to save her, because she means the world to me."

She heard the gun click, but it didn't fire. She said he then started hitting her in the head with it.

"I wouldn't stop screaming, and I think he got spooked because he ended up running," she explained.

She believes that screaming saved her life.

"Immediately, my mind went to the bystander effect, where somebody could be screaming and no one is coming out, and I was like, it's up to me," said a nearby neighbor, Darin Dubinsky.

Dubinsky ran out to help and brought Connor and Honey into his house.

"She was afraid that they would come back for her. So, just wanted to create a safe space," he explained.

The police came to the scene quickly, and they are now investigating.

Connor said her neighbors have been supportive.

"They've offered to do dog walking together, like as a group, so nobody in this area has to be alone," she said.

Police departments across the country have reported on an increase in French bulldog thefts over the last few years.

"I've known about this, and it's just horrific, it really is," Connor said.

Thankfully, she and Honey are okay.

"She's been a little more needy with me, which obviously I'm okay with," Connor said.

Connor told CBS 58 she feels empathy for the person who did this, as he seemed like a young man.

"I can't understand how somebody could do this to somebody," she said. "So, I don't know what happened in his life."

Milwaukee police said the suspect is still unknown.

They're asking anyone who might have security footage to reach out to them.