LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As a licensed therapist in Louisville, Melanie McDermott is used to helping people. But this week, she's finding herself the one needing the help.

"Therapists aren't superheroes, you know?" she said Monday. "We go through things like this, too."

Last Thursday she was carjacked at gunpoint in Lyndon, though McDermott wanted to keep the exact location private so as to not draw attention from the perpetrators, who she said remain on the streets.

"This was not just a little thing. This was a big deal," she said. "It's been a roller coaster, because I don't want to be a victim of anything, and so it's very hard to wrap your head around 'Oh, I've just gone through a traumatic event.'"

McDermott said she was leaving work for the day when a car pulled up beside her. At least three people were involved, she said: the driver and two others who got out and approached her.

"The other person came around the back of my car, pointed a gun in my face and said 'Give me everything now' and kind of shoved me," McDermott said. "And I just threw myself flat down on the concrete and I said, 'It's all there. Just take it. ... Take everything there. It's all there. Just don't hurt me and go.'"

And McDermott isn't alone. Another woman was carjacked at gunpoint just two days later in the same area. She wouldn't go on camera for safety reasons but said it happened around 6:30 p.m. She said officers were able to track down suspects — all juveniles — who she said were released until their court date because they don't have anywhere to house them.

Police said a third person was carjacked over the weekend near Preston Highway.

Louisville Metro Police Detective Nathaniel Hernandez, specifically handles armed carjackings, said the number of crimes is down 38% since last year. There have been 93 across the city this year.

Regardless, with the holidays approaching and more people are out and about, he said people need to stay aware of their surroundings.

"I know everybody likes to have that moment to decompress before going inside," Hernandez said. "Maybe cut that a little bit shorter. Be aware of everything going on around you if possible."

And if something does happen, McDermott wants people to know they're not alone and help is out there.

"For people who have experienced a similar incident, you're not alone. There's help," she said. "You may not understand all the things that happen to you afterward, and it's important — just like your physical health — to take care of your mental health."

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