KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A 19-year-old University of Tennessee student was held at gunpoint and had her car stolen near campus early Monday morning.
The Knoxville Police Department said Cierra Mason reported a suspect pointed a gun at her and demanded she put her belongings into the car before they drove away in it. She was not injured, according to KPD.
Mason said she had been driving around the Fort Sanders neighborhood looking for parking. After circling the area, she said she stopped and was sitting in her car when someone tapped her window with a gun.
"There's no parking, so I had to circle — long enough for someone to notice I was circling and have the time to follow me and steal my car," she said. "I was just sitting in my car for maybe five minutes, and then I heard a tap on my window and I looked — it was a gun."
KPD said she was carjacked on 15th Street between Laurel Avenue and Bridge Avenue — around a 90-second walk from the UT campus.
"Next thing I knew, both my doors were open. A guy was getting into my passenger seat and someone was pointing a gun at me, saying, 'Get out of my car and run,'" she said. "I will say, people knocking on doors kind of freaks me out a little bit."
She said after the carjacking, she grew fearful of her new university and said she believes it could have been avoided if she had been able to park faster.
"I don't feel comfortable walking around campus anymore, really," she said. "Honestly, just parking is the biggest thing. I had nowhere to park, and that put me in a dangerous situation."
KPD is still searching for two suspects in the case. Anyone with information about the incident should reach out to the East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers either online or by calling 865-215-7165.