MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Mississippi preacher is recovering from a concussion, broken ribs, and abrasions after being robbed and beaten on his way home from the airport.
Willie Hamblen, the minister of South Jackson Church of Christ in Houston, Mississippi, said he made a wrong turn exiting the Memphis International Airport late Saturday night and ended up in a South Memphis neighborhood he wasn’t familiar with.
The 84-year-old said he was trying to turn his car around when it got stuck on the railroad tracks at Pendleton Street and Frisco Avenue.
“It was a bad choice on my part. I followed the GPS, and it said to turn at the next intersection, and with my vision not being as good as it needed to be, I ended up on the railroad right of way,” said Hamblen.
Hamblen said while he was waiting on a tow truck, a man approached his car, asked him what was going on, and returned with another man and an assault rifle and robbed him.
“They came up to me and asked for everything I had,” Hamblen said.