Teen with autism robbed at gunpoint while walking to bus stop

14-year-old robbed of $18, coupons

SANFORD, Fla. – Walking to the bus stop can be a mindless task for school kids every morning. For some, it may even be a chore. For 14-year-old Nathan Neumann,it was an accomplishment that gave him a new sense of freedom.

"He's worked so hard to be as independent as he is and for someone to take that security from him -- I can't forgive that. It's awful," said Nathan's mother, Danielle Neumann.

Nathan was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 years old.

This was the first year his mother felt comfortable enough to allow him to walk to the bus stop by himself, but the independence that had taken years to build up was stripped away in mere minutes on Monday.

"One of them told me to give him my phone and I said, 'No,' so the black kid with the light gray hoodie pulled a silver gun at me," Nathan said. "He demandedme to give him my phone and I told him, 'I got money.'"

Sanford police said two black men around the age of 18 stole Nathan's wallet as he was walking to the bus stop just before 9 a.m. Monday.

The armed robbery happened in the 2600 block of Hartwell Avenue.

Inside the wallet was $18 and a few coupons.

Nathan called his mother after the robbery. She told him to go home, call 911 and lock the doors until she got home.

"I was completely and utterly frantic and powerless," she said. "That was the worst -- just powerless, because I knew I was far away."

Nathan stayed home from school Tuesday. The incident kept him up all night.

He will go back to school Wednesday but from now on, his uncle said, he will drive him to the bus stop.

Danielle Neumann said she was already thinking about moving, but Monday's scare has put her search into high gear.

She has a message for other parents and residents in the area: "As a neighborhood, please just look out for each other. Be vigilant."


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