Police in Miami are searching for a purse thief who was caught on camera knocking a 74-year-old woman to the ground during a violent robbery.
The robbery happened around 7 a.m. Monday near the intersection of Oak Avenue and Hibiscus Street in Coconut Grove.
Surveillance footage released by Miami Police on Tuesday showed the woman walking at the intersection when she's approached from behind by the man on the bike.
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The man knocked the woman to the ground and was able to grab the purse the woman had dangling across her body before he fled the scene, police said.
The woman injured her right arm and was taken by Miami Fire Rescue to Coral Gables Hospital for treatment, police said.
The woman did not want to be identified, but she said Tuesday that what happened to her was a nightmare, but she doesn't want to live in fear anymore and she also doesn't want this to happen to anyone else.
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“It was the scariest thing a person could go through because I was walking this way and he attacked me from behind,” she said. “I had just looked around that area and I don’t know where he came from. There was no one at the previous corner.”
When the man attacked her, she didn't say anything and all she could do was scream, she said. The attack has left her with a painful reminder.
“I have 11 stitches,” she said. “The injury looks bad, and it hurts a lot. My fingers are swollen, my hand is swollen. I feel a lot of pain on my left side.”
She said the only thing inside her purse at the time were her keys and a bottle of water. She plans on paying more attention to her surroundings, and said she's not letting what happened to her stop her from living her life.
“I want people to see the video and try to recognize him,” she said. “If someone does, please say something. I don’t want anyone else going through this. We can’t live being afraid.”
A man who lives across the street said he heard a woman yelling at around 7 a.m., and another neighbor said he saw all the police and wasn’t sure exactly what happened.
“It’s tough seeing that it happened so close to home. Typically very safe neighborhood as of recent years here and it just goes to show you never know, you always have to have your head on a swivel at any given time because anything can happen," resident Alec Duncan said.
Miami Police are looking for the man they said is 5-foot-8 to 6-foot tall, possibly in his 30’s. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black hat, red underwear, and gray pants.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
