A 17-year-old from Lakeville was robbed on July 19. He drove to Bloomington to buy a video game system from someone he'd met on Instagram and left $600 poorer, after being told to run or get shot.
The teen and an 18-year-old friend drove to the parking lot at the Bloomington Ferry Trailhead Bridge around 6:30 p.m. When he got out of the car to make the deal, masked men holding handguns jumped out of a white Kia and told him to leave or they'd shoot. They took the $600 and drove off.
Bloomington police Commander Eric Kittelson said anyone meeting a stranger for an online sale should use the city's Safe Swap Spot at Civic Plaza, not some random parking lot. If a seller is unwilling to meet at Bloomington Civic Plaza, buyers "shouldn't meet with" them, Kittelson said.
The spot is in the Civic Plaza lot at 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road, near the police department entrance in the row closest to Logan Avenue, and it's marked with signs. It's open at all hours. From Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., you can also do the swap inside the police department lobby. The city is clear about what the spot isn't. There are security cameras, but no one is assigned to watch the footage regularly, officers won't watch or handle each exchange, and the city says it is "not a guarantee of safety."
The city's other tips are mostly common sense that's easy to skip when a deal looks good. Tell a friend or family member where you're going and when you'll be back. Meet in daylight. Make sure the item works before you pay. Walk away from a seller who wants gift cards or a wire transfer.
Plenty of these online-sale meetups still happen in whichever lot is handiest, and a trailhead lot on an early summer evening apparently looked handy to whoever set this one up. Bloomington already has a spot built for exactly this kind of deal, right outside the police station. A seller who won't meet there is telling you something.
