Well, it’s not every day that one receives an email such as the one below from a young female attorney at a prominent Houston law firm. For those unfamilar with Houston, the intersection of Kirby and Westheimer is a popular commercial area between two of the toniest residential neighborhoods inside the loop in Houston, River Oaks to the north and West University to the south:

From: (Name withheld)
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 9:14 PM
To: (list suppressed)
Subject: Personal experience you don’t want happening to you – please share with others if you like
Dear friends,
First of all, I am fine … but earlier today I had an experience that I’m sharing with you so that you will be careful.
After going for a run with [deleted] today, I went to get cash at the Sterling Bank ATM near the Taco Milagro on the corner of Kirby and Westheimer (Upper Westheimer District, Houston). It’s a busy area, and it was still daylight. The ATM fronted on Westheimer. There were lots of people out on the patio at Taco Milagro [a popular local restaurant], just 50 yards or so away.
I got out of my car, locked it, and went to the cash machine. As soon as I had put my card into the machine and entered my PIN, a woman came up and stood right next to me on my left, put a gun in my side and told me that she wouldn’t shoot me if I didn’t scream and gave her $800. I had only punched in $200, so she grabbed that and told me to get $800 more.
My bank has a $400 daily limit (I have since learned), so after trying $800, $700, $600 and so on, I was able to withdraw $200 more. During this time she repeatedly told me not to scream or she would shoot me, and asked many times for my PIN code. I didn’t speak to her and didn’t answer her question, and all kinds of things were going through my head – mostly was she going to use the gun, but also would she steal [my boyfriend’s] car (which I was driving), my purse (which I was holding), my rings (which I was wearing), the receipt which showed our bank balance.
After withdrawing the second round of cash, she grabbed the money, told me to stay where I was, and took off. After ten seconds or so, I turned around and realized she had run across the little side street just east of the ATM, jumped into a car that took off just as I looked over that way. I tried to see the license plate, but they were just far enough away that I wasn’t able to make out the numbers, although I did make a mental note of the kind of car and the way they headed out. I had grabbed my receipts as soon as I was sure she (and the gun) were gone, and got back in my car to get home asap.
HPD came to our house and took down the case. I am pretty sure they will be able to see the woman on the videotape from the ATM because she was standing right next to me the whole time, and I had the receipts that showed the exact times of the two transactions.
All I can say is: be careful about ATM’s. The police said that robberies like this are happening all over the city, in broad daylight, in good neighborhoods. They look for easy marks (women by themselves) and they have it down to a science. I am so lucky that I wasn’t hurt – and she didn’t steal the car, my purse and jewelry, etc. Maybe you will be more careful than ever before and this – or worse – won’t happen to you. The entire episode made me realize that every day we are in seemingly harm-free situations that can quickly turn into dangerous situations.
Much love from Ella Lee Lane, NOT Ben Taub Hospital – Be careful!
p.s. If you are reading this, please promise you won’t tell my parents or in-laws about this. They worry enough as it is!