NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Vanderbilt University Medical Center employee is shaken after being robbed at gunpoint in a parking garage following his shift.
Jeffrey Goodner, who works at VUMC, said he enjoys his job because it allows him to meet new people.
"Vanderbilt is a good place to work. That’s why I came here — to work. I didn’t come to get robbed," Goodner said.
The incident happened just before midnight as he walked a coworker to her car in the Medical Center’s Central Garage.
"I was going to my car, and as I got to my car and got ready to get in, he bum-rushed me," Goodner recalled. His coworker ran for safety.
Goodner said he was threatened with a gun and forced to hand over his wallet, money, and car keys.
"They hit me in the back really hard," he said.
After the suspects fled, Goodner ran to a nearby emergency phone to report the robbery.
"There wasn’t anything I could do. I ran to the phone — Vandy has phones there — and told them I just got robbed. It took them 25 minutes to get there," he said.
Vanderbilt University Police responded and issued a campus-wide alert, warning that two male suspects were last seen leaving the garage and heading toward campus. They are now working with Metro Nashville Police to track Goodner’s stolen Infiniti QX69.
He’s hopeful detectives will recover his vehicle, but he is still on edge.
"I’m still going to work, but I’m just shaken up right now. I don’t know if they’ll be looking for me again since they have my billfold, ID, and everything," he said.
Goodner is urging others to stay vigilant.
"Be careful when you’re coming to your car because anything can happen," he warned.
Police said one suspect drove off in Goodner’s SUV, while the other left in a silver sedan.
NewsChannel 5 reached out to Vanderbilt University Medical Center regarding security measures in the garage. A spokesperson responded:
"The safety of our employees, patients, and visitors is our top priority."
The spokesperson added that VUMC is the only medical center in Nashville with its own 24/7 licensed and chartered police force. The hospital has recently implemented weapons detection systems at many facility entrances and offers security escorts for employees who request them.
Anyone with information about the robbery should call the police.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com
The line ''see something, say something" took on new meaning recently in Bowling Green. Two alert neighbors helped tip police to stolen Corvettes from the nearby assembly plant. That led law enforcement to find 8 stolen Corvettes worth over $1 million. We may all be able to learn a little lesson from this.
-Lelan Statom
