BALTIMORE — "I bent down to get the paper, and I heard the footsteps from the street. I turned around, the gun was in my face," says Reginald Scott.
Reginald Scott, who has been delivering newspapers for 19 years, was visibly frustrated as he talked about the time he was carjacked at gunpoint in near the Reservoir Hill neighborhood.
He says two men came up to him and pointed a gun at his face.
He told them if he could just get his dog out of the car, they could have the vehicle, and that's what happened.
He says delivery drivers have been targeted a lot more in recent years.
"That's how they are getting us; they are watching our actions, watching what we're doing, and jumping out on us," he said.
The most recent incident happened on September 16.
Two men dressed in dark clothing approached a different driver. They demanded he give up his car and threatened to kill him.
This was the third time that driver had been carjacked.
Afterwards, the company he worked for sent out a notice telling customers things were going to change.
"I mean, it is scary. To happen that early in the morning that means there is people causing around just looking for potential victims to take advantage of, and while this neighborhood is steadily improving, while the statistics say crime is down, it still shows that there is a long way to go in Baltimore," Eric Hontz, who gets his paper delivered each morning, said.
"This is a dark neighborhood; for me and the other gentleman, was being car jacked in that neighborhood because of the lighting down there; it's not just us being car jacked in that area; they getting robbed down there, people are breaking in their cars down there. It's all because of the lighting. You know, and I don't understand why it's so dark in this neighborhood, especially with the crime going on," Scott said.
The notice says that because of the recent car jacking, delivery drivers will no longer get out of their cars to deliver the papers; instead, they will throw them on to the front steps or porch.
Also, the drivers will begin making their deliveries later in the morning, when the sun is coming up.
"Neighbors have received similar notices, and we all feel for the delivery folks. You now, this is something that we deal with, unfortunately, living in Baltimore. There are people who are just trying to make a living and shouldn't have to deal with the violence that is endemic to the city. It's just become normalized," Hontz said.
Scott says he doesn't think the carjackings will stop, and he encourages other delivery drivers to be extra cautious when making deliveries.
"Be very careful, and always keep your head on a swivel. That's for the Amazon drivers and all because we're all being attacked; you notice they are being attacked also, so you know we got to pay attention," he said.
Scott says that although police patrol some of the areas, it's not stopping the crime from happening.
