Tosj Woods, 11, and his 8-year-old cousin were riding bike two blocks from Tosj's New Haven, Conn., home when a man with a gun approached him Tuesday afternoon and stole it. His family had just gotten it back from being stolen the first time.
"He was like, 'Just give me the bike,' and I was like, 'I'm sorry I can't,' and he showed me the gun and I just gave it to him," Tosj said.
It happened near West Park Avenue and Elm Street in broad daylight, and left Tosj, who is about to be a sixth-grader at Amistad Charter School, feeling scared.
"I was nervous. I knew he had a gun. I didn't want to get shot. My mom tells me you can get another bike, but not a new person," Tosj said.
When Tosj ran to tell his mom, Tonya, she was stunned.
"It was hard to believe because the same thing happened to my other son last year," said Tonya Woods-Crump.
Her oldest son Devin McPherson, then 14, was with a friend, when their bikes were stolen last summer near Edgewood Park by two men.
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"He's like, 'We need that bike,' and he lifts up his shirt so I can see the gun," McPherson said. "And I'm like, 'Oh! OK'!"
After McPherson's bike was stolen, New Haven Police found it, but they kept it as evidence inside police headquarters for months.
In June, the family finally got it back, and now two months later, it's been stolen at gunpoint again.
"I'm like, 'Get a job!' I know times are hard, but times are hard for me. We have four boys and four boys don't come cheap," said a frustrated Woods-Crump.
Still, she continues to tell her boys not to put up a fight if, God forbid, this were to happen again.
But Woods-Crump has a message for the thieves.
"To someone who's robbing a 10-year old, a 11-year old, then you really need to grow up. That's ridiculous.You should have some pride," she said.
