SPRING BRANCH, Texas – A woman said she used an app to track suspected thieves who broke into her car and stole her phone along with hundreds of dollars worth of Christmas presents.
Miranda Jensen, along with her husband and some friends were getting ready to go out last week when she noticed someone broke into her car in their West Branch neighborhood.
“There were a couple things on the ground, my glove compartment was open and I thought ‘that’s kind of weird,'" Jensen told KPRC 2. “My husband’s shirt (was) on the ground outside the car (and I) didn’t really think anything of it. Then they noticed that the Christmas presents were gone from the backseat and my phone was gone as well.”
She then used her husband’s phone to track her iPhone. The map showed her phone was not too far away — at Sunrise Apartments.
Jensen says the group headed to the apartments where they saw some people.
“We noticed that (the suspects) loaded something into the car and they were getting in the car trying to be inconspicuous because we knew it was them," she said. “I flashed my bright at them because I wanted to get their attention. I thought it would be a simple, ‘Hey we got you, could you give me back our stuff.’ I didn’t think anything of it that we would be able to confront them and get our stuff back. Then they got in the car and drove off so I followed after them.”
She said what happened next surprised them.
“They went screeching around the corner, I followed them. The rest of them in the car was like, ‘Maybe this isn’t a good idea’ but I wasn’t listening. Then all of a sudden, we hear pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.”
Jensen said the suspects fired a weapon. When the group realized the suspects were shooting, they stopped pursuing the suspects. Jensen believes the suspects didn’t shoot directly at them but rather fired shots to scare them. She says they were already on the phone with the police when the shooting began.
“(Police) said, ‘Just wait right there, we’re going to go after them,'” she said. "A few minutes later we hear a helicopter above us and a bunch of officers’ lights and stuff,” explained Jensen.
She said authorities stayed on the phone with her and told her to go to the Swift gas station off of Hammerly Road. Authorities had stopped the suspects and Jensen’s husband along with another individual helped identify them.
“We got the stuff back,” said Jensen. She claims that the suspects also stole items from other people as well.
Jensen posted her full account on Facebook.