A 17-year-old thief from Brooklyn, N.Y., lost his arm Friday after he was slammed against a fence while trying to steal a pair of sneakers and now the intended victim is facing possible jail time for the act. The incident occurred after buyer Zachary Sam and seller Philippe Pierre, 39, arranged to meet up through the app Wallapop in Canarsie, said sources, reported the New York Post. The two met at Avenue M and East 84th Street as planned, and Sam got into Pierre's Honda Pilot SUV. However, instead of the deal going down as Pierre expected, Sam pulled out a gun, stole the coveted Air Jordan 8 Retro sneakers and walked away.
Sam only managed to make it 100 yards away from the SUV, however, when Pierre made a U-turn with his car and struck Sam, disarming him in both senses of the word after Sam not only lost his gun, but his arm as well, according to the New York Daily News.
"He technically did disarm him," said a police source.
With his arm missing, Sam fled the scene and managed to catch an MTA bus. However, Pierre, still on his trail, tracked the bus down and explained that Sam had just tried to rob him. Sam fled once more, this time running home, where he collapsed outside, a police source said.
An ambulance arrived at the scene soon afterward and took Sam, as well as his severed arm, to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Doctors surgically reattached his arm, but, as of Friday evening, were still unsure whether the operation was successful, according to PIX 11.
In the incident's aftermath, Sam was charged with robbery and criminal possession of a weapon, while Pierre was arrested on attempted murder charges - a charge that his family said is entirely fallacious.
"He was just there to help support his family," said Pierre's cousin. "What would you do if someone pulled a gun on you?"
