Residents robbed at gunpoint inside their bedroom during multiple break-ins at Starkville residential neighborhood

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – An investigation is underway after two break-ins overnight in a Starkville residential neighborhood, including one that went from burglary to armed robbery.

“They held a gun to her head,” said neighbor Jamie Methvin. “She was held at gunpoint.”

Methvin says she was shocked when she first heard that one of her neighbors was robbed at gunpoint inside their home early Monday morning.

Starkville Police say they were called to the scene at 4:53 a.m. to the Park Towne Village neighborhood in the 200 block of Louisville Street.

Police Chief Mark Ballard says the suspects broke into the bedroom without warning and had their weapons drawn.

“At one stage of the game, the suspect actually placed the gun into the chest of one of the homeowners and made his demands,” he said.

The police chief says the residents handed over a purse and a wallet but were otherwise unhurt.

However, plenty of their neighbors are understandably shaken.

“It was very scary because I feel very comfortable here and come out at night to take my trash out and I’ve never felt scared or worried about anything in the neighborhood before,” Methvin said.

She told WCBI that the other burglary was just two doors down from her own home.

“No one was home but they found the key under the mat and were able to go in,” she said.

Fellow neighbor Elaine White says the suspects tried to do the same thing at her house.

“I came out and saw that my doormats had been turned over looking for keys, so I would strongly suggest you do not put a key under your doormat,” she cautioned.

She now plans on installing surveillance cameras.

“It had been suggested and I’m like, ‘I’m here all the time, do I need a camera?,'” she said. “(Now) I need a camera.”

Chief Ballard described the suspects as young adults and has requested that anyone who might have caught them on a home security camera share the footage with police. Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to either call Starkville Police or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers.