Methuen Woman Assaulted, Robbed at Gunpoint Trying to Sell iPhone

(File photograph.)

A Methuen woman was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint Wednesday when she attempted to sell her iPhone to a buyer who contacted her online.

Police Chief Joseph Solomon said the incident happened around 7 p.m. on Mystic Street.

The victim entered the suspect’s vehicle, a tan four-door Honda, in an effort to complete the sales transaction when she was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint. The suspect struck her in the head with his gun, pushed her out of the car and fled with her iPhone.

Solomon said the suspect is a light-skinned Hispanic male, approximately 18- to 20-years-old, who drove an older-model Honda with an unknown New Hampshire registration.

Sharing news of the incident on social media, Solomon issued a warning to those selling items online. “When selling items online, meet in a well-lit area or at the police department parking lot,” he suggested.

Several communities in the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire have designated so-called “MeetUp Spots,” some monitored by surveillance cameras, in partnership with online marketplace Offer Up.

Anyone with knowledge of the incident is asked to call Methuen Police at 978-983-8698.