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Real-estate agent robbed at gunpoint in south Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A south Charlotte neighborhood is on alert after a warning was sent out about a realty agent robbed while on the job.

“I’ll be sure to keep a close eye,” said Lane Gamble.

Gamble told Channel 9 he'd just left his house on Emerywood Drive Wednesday morning to run an errand. He noticed a suspicious car parked in front of his house and by the time he turned around, he said the car was speeding off.

Channel 9 learned the realty agent was waiting for Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, so he could file a report about a break-in at a home he’s trying to sell, when he was robbed.

“He said he was sitting in his car then a guy tapped on his window with a gun, told him to give him all his stuff,” Gamble said. “He was pretty shaken up.”

Channel 9 first learned about the violent crime through an alert on a neighborhood app, and confirmed the robbery with police.

Roger Parham, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, said more realty agents across the country are becoming a target for criminals.

“We continuously advise our agents and firms to have their own safety procedures in place,” Parham said.

Eyewitness News anchor Liz Foster crime-mapped the area and learned in the last four weeks, there have been three assaults and two home break-ins within a half-mile of Emerywood Drive.

Gamble still considers the neighborhood safe, but hopes police find the robber before it happens again.

“My kids go up to the parks and play,” Gamble said. “With a robbery, you never know what could happen. I just want my kids to have a safe place to play.”

Police have not arrested anyone for the armed robbery or the break-in reported at the house for sale.

Neighbors hope the description of the suspicious black car will help.

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