HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — A Hampton Roads man is asking for the public’s help in tracking down the person who shot him and his dog before stealing his money.
It happened last month in Hampton, but a suspect hasn’t been arrested.
Rick Epstein and his dog are recovering. He told WRIC sister station WAVY that he’s still shaken knowing that the person who shot him is still out there.
He’s putting a $3,000 reward on the table to find the person responsible.
The incident happened three weeks ago.
Epstein is a contractor. He was standing in the driveway at one of his work sites on Webster Street when he said he was attacked.
“Somebody comes behind me and hits me behind the head and says ‘You’re coming with me’ and I said ‘I’m not’ and I turned around and when I turned around they shot me,” Epstein said.
The bullet hit him in the arm, shattering his bone, and it exited near his wrist. Epstein said he didn’t see the man but they fired again. The second shot just missed him.
Epstein’s 3-year-old Doberman, Chili, was the next target. The man shot the dog, too.
“It hit him in the neck,” he said. “He was in the truck and they wanted him out so they could get what they wanted and get out of there,” he said.
The man grabbed a money bag that had around $1,800 and fled. Epstein was rushed to Riverside Regional Medical Center and Chili was rushed to a vet.
The contractor said he’s not sure who shot him but he thinks it could be linked to a previous job.
“Somebody who did this knew I had money in the vehicle,” he said.
Epstein and his canine best friend are on the mend but the emotional trauma for both of them is still fresh.
“He sticks with me a lot more,” Epstein said, referring to Chili. “I’m scared to work the job because I’m thinking that still somebody is out there that could get me again.”
He hopes money will motivate someone to speak up.
“Somebody knows somebody who did it,” Epstein said. “Somebody that would do something like that in broad daylight, they’ll do it again.”
The reward is for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
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