A video game system sale in Norfolk turned frightening Thursday evening when a man told police he saw what appeared to be a weapon in the seller's hand, then discovered the box he paid for didn't even contain the console he thought he was buying. The transaction happened around 7:15 p.m. in the 9600 block of 4th View Street, and the case remains under investigation.
According to WAVY.com, the man and the seller had arranged to meet and exchange cash for a gaming system, a common setup for buyers and sellers connecting through online marketplaces. Officers responded to a report that the man had allegedly been robbed at gunpoint during the meetup, the station reported. Norfolk Police are now investigating the incident as a larceny.
Per the outlet's account, the man said that after the exchange, he saw what appeared to be a weapon in the seller's hand, though he could not confirm it was actually a firearm. The seller then left the scene. When the man checked the box, he reportedly discovered it did not contain the video game system he had agreed to purchase, police said.
Investigation Still Open, No Suspect Details Released
The case remains ongoing, and no further details about the seller or how the deal was originally arranged have been released. Norfolk Police have not indicated whether the incident will ultimately be classified as a robbery, larceny, or another offense.
In-person exchanges tied to online classifieds and marketplace apps have drawn scrutiny well beyond Hampton Roads this year. In Chicago, police issued a public warning after a string of armed robberies connected to Facebook Marketplace meetups in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, according to Newsweek. That outlet reported three separate incidents in the area on September 17, September 29 and October 7.
Pattern Seen in Other Cities' Marketplace Meetups
Newsweek also reported that Portland police investigated at least 10 similar incidents during 2026, including one case where an electric bicycle listed on Facebook Marketplace was stolen at gunpoint during a meetup in June. In a separate case cited by the outlet, Illinois resident Tobias W. Taylor was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery stemming from a Facebook Marketplace shoe sale.
It is not established whether the Norfolk incident is connected to those cases or to a 2023 armed robbery reported at a Norfolk video game store, which WAVY.com covered separately at the time. A city crime summary released by Norfolk in January said violent crime fell 11% and property crime fell 17% in 2025, with declines also reported in robbery, burglary and larceny categories, though the underlying totals for those categories were not detailed in that summary.
Anyone with information about Thursday's incident is encouraged to contact Norfolk Police as the investigation continues.
