Detectives in the Bronx are searching for an attacker who allegedly followed his victim off the subway as she was coming home from Christmas Eve Mass and seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
The 68-year-old woman exclusively told NBC New York that she was robbed by a stranger who ripped her backpack right off her shoulder and threw her to the ground on Boyton and Westchester Avenues in the Soundview neighborhood.
"I just felt this big tug, like a grab on my little back pack. Automatic reaction, I just grab it," said the victim, who did not wish to be identified. "So I guess he realized this little old lady — she’s fighting back. And he just pushed me down to the ground. And just grabbed by backpack and ran."
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The victim said she had just gone to church and saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, then took the train home to the Bronx where she was followed by the suspect and robbed. The man got her handbag that had two cellphones, a debit card and $400 inside, according to police. He then fled on Westchester Avenue toward Elder Avenue.
"I was just in panic, shock, it was just scary. Really scary," she told News 4.
While she refused medical attention at the scene, the woman said the attack left her with excruciating headaches, shoulder pain and a broken finger. She also can’t understand why she would be targeted, especially at her age.
"The young folks, they’re supposed to respect the elderly. Take care of us. He should be protecting me on the way home, not robbing me," she said.
She described her attacker as at least six feet tall with a slim build. But instead of being angry, the woman said she is praying for the man.
"I pray for him. I have a group praying for him. That he would not hurt anybody again," she said.
There's a reward leading to an arrest in the incident, and those with information can remain anonymous.
