A resident of New York City successfully managed to locate his stolen bike through his AirTags, but his experience ended up being more overwhelming than he would have imagined. According to Stephen Herbert, he had an encounter with the thieves in an effort to retrieve his stolen vehicle led to a physical altercation with the perpetrators, and the ending is not a happy one.

As reported by NY Daily News, AppleInsider spotted the news and mentioned how Herbert immediately regretted going after the thieves that stole his bike, not anticipating that the incident would end up being a physical one.

“I think a lot about it, if he had a gun I could be dead. I think about how stupid I was to confront someone and maybe my life was ruined in a much more serious way.”

After approaching the criminals through the AirTags, Herbert was taken down and pummeled to the point that he was left with a broken nose.

“The next thing I know, I'm down. Maybe they both punched and kicked me. I was just hoping at that point they would stop, get up and leave and take my bike. And they did. Keeper of Thieves.”

Thanks to the incident, Herbert states that he no longer feels safe in his neighborhood.

“I definitely walked around the neighborhood with an aura of comfort, and I don't anymore, and I definitely don't feel safe,. Can't pretend we live in a safe town.”

It is remarkably unsafe to go after criminals with your stolen property, even if you can track them with ease using AirTags. It is always prudent practice to inform law enforcement personnel, who are also well-equipped to deter such criminals. As Herbert points out earlier, if any of these individuals were armed with a weapon, the entire scenario would have been much worse than the bike owner receiving a broken nose.

Hopefully, this will serve as a reminder that just because AirTags serve as a multi-purpose accessory to locate stolen belongings does not mean it is not a good idea to pursue criminals without adequate backup.

News Source: NY Daily News