A Florida couple was shot many times after driving to the wrong address while attempting to deliver groceries for Instacart. A detective told the couple shortly after the occurrence that the gunman could not be charged since no laws were broken.
Waldes Thomas told WTVJ that he and his girlfriend drove to the wrong address while on the phone with the customer, attempting to locate her home, and saw a spotlight just as they were about to leave the property they had mistakenly driven to.
“He’s like, ‘Who are you?’ and we’re saying we’re with Instacart,” Thomas’ girlfriend, Diamond D’arville, said, adding that they initially thought that individual was the customer.
“The guy gets in his truck and reverses, and he pulls up behind us,” D’arville said. The couple then saw the man pull out a gun as they tried to leave the location. “I had seen him pull out a gun and that’s when I said, ‘We got to go, we got to go,’” D’arville said. “I was scared, I’m not going to lie.”
Bullets struck the couple’s car many times after the man allegedly opened fire, causing them to quickly retreat and contact the police shortly after they left the address. “We were there for Instacart, we were trying to tell him, and he went about it the wrong way — instead of just calling the police, saying I have trespassers on my lawn, he decided to shoot,” said Thomas.
The couple’s encounter on April 15 comes after news of people being fired at after going to the wrong home made national headlines, one of which was fatal. The pair stated that they want the gunman to face the repercussions of his actions, but a detective informed them that this would not be possible.
“(A detective) asked if we wanted to prosecute and we agreed to do that, but he said since they didn’t break any laws or do anything unlawful, they couldn’t do anything because we were on their property,” D’arville said.
“It’s just not right — even if you have a gun, I understand you’re trying to protect your family, but you don’t come outside shooting,” she added. “We’re telling you what we’re doing here, we’re trying to leave and you’re blocking us in, it could’ve just been on our way and they made it bigger than what it was.”
Responding to the incident in a statement, Instacart said it had gotten in touch with the shopper and “will cooperate with law enforcement on any ongoing investigation.”
“The safety of the entire Instacart community is incredibly important to us, and we take immediate action when we receive reports of violence or threats of violence made against any member of the Instacart community,” the company said.