The man pointed the gun right at her head.

It has been an exciting year for Anne Marsh, and her family. Her daughter was expecting to have a baby on Thanksgiving, the first grandchild for Marsh and her husband, Fred.

A couple weeks before the big day, Marsh was returning to her home from work. She wheeled down the alley and was talking on her cell phone with her daughter, just like any average day. Marsh turned into the driveway of her home, and talked a couple more minutes. As she spoke, a young man approached her on the driver’s side of her car.

“He had a gun pointed right at my head, and he screamed, ‘Get out of the car’,” she says. “I screamed at my daughter to call 911.”

Marsh exited the car and began screaming.

“It was scary,” she says. “I was thinking, ‘God, I’m not going to see my grandchild born.’ I felt extremely violated.”

The robber grabbed her purse and fled. Police told Marsh that the criminal may have been looking for the perfect opportunity and saw that she was distracted in her driveway talking on the phone. The purse had only about $5 in it, but she did lose her license and had to cancel her credit cards.

Police made a composite sketch of the robber in hopes of capturing the man.

“This is really unusual for our neighborhood,” Marsh says. “I told the police I wouldn’t forget his face.”

Dallas Police Lt. Barry Payne of the North Central Patrol Division says it’s important for neighbors to be aware of their surroundings and any unusual people.

“Unless an individual is being specifically targeted, these are crimes of opportunity, and someone hanging around an area is going to rob whoever drives up, rather than hiding in wait for someone to come home,” he says.

Leaving her phone line open was a good idea, Payne says.

“If someone is talking on the phone when getting robbed, they should keep the line open and let the person on the other end of the line hear what is going on so they can be a witness, if only by hearing what is happening,” Payne says.  “The best general advice is to comply with the suspect’s orders, especially if he or she has a gun pointed at you.”

However, Payne cautions, “understand that there is no ‘safe way’ to react to an armed suspect.”