A robber crept up behind a woman walking into her apartment in Brooklyn and covered her mouth with his hand as he yanked away her belongings and then ran away, police say.
Cops are searching for the suspect, captured on surveillance video in the April 1 mugging near Hicks and Baltic streets in Cobble Hill at about 11:30 p.m.
The man yanked away the 29-year-old woman's black handbag containing an iPhone and credit cards, police said. The woman was not hurt.
The victim told DNAInfo that surveillance video shows the man had waited outside her home for more than an hour before following her in.
"I only caught a glimpse of him passing by me in our mailroom, but assumed that he was a neighbor," she told the news website in an email.
She said the man followed her up the stairs at a distance, then pounced when she went to unlocked her apartment door.
"I was trying to fight and to scream but the sound seemed to be completely muffled," she said.
Local
The woman's boyfriend was inside the apartment and heard scuffling sounds in the hallway. Unaware of what was happening, he banged on the door to quash the disturbance.
The suspect got startled and ran away with the woman's handbag, she said.
The woman told DNAInfo she's never felt unsafe before.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
