A woman who managed to fight off a robber near a West Chester Walgreens is speaking out for the first time, hoping her attacker will be found before he strikes again.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, says she was leaving the Walgreens store on the 300 block of N Bradford Avenue in East Bradford Township on Sunday around 7:45 p.m. Surveillance video captured a man creeping up behind her as she walked down a sidewalk.
“I didn’t notice him until he was right at my shoulder,” the woman said.
The man suddenly grabbed the woman and a struggle ensued.
“It’s just like he grabbed all of me,” she said. “He was trying to get it because it was held so closely to my body.”
At one point the video shows the suspect lifting the woman off the ground.
“They fell to the sidewalk twice in addition to rolling around on the sidewalk which exposed the victim to injury,” said West Chester Police Sergeant Louis DeShullo.
Despite being outweighed significantly by her attacker, the woman managed to fight back, punching him in the face several times and wrestling with him on the ground.
“I think instinct just kicked in and I did anything I could to protect myself,” she said. “I didn’t know if it was more than a purse he wanted.”
The struggle continued until the suspect managed to grab the woman’s purse, which contained cash and credit cards. He then fled the scene.
Police suspect the man was standing in the area for about an hour and a half before the attack.
“Our concern is that he continued to fight the victim after the victim showed signs of resistance,” DeShullo said.
The woman suffered scrapes and bruises during the ordeal.
“It’s disappointing there are people who think it’s okay to prey on other people,” she said.
The suspect is described as a man with curly or wavy hair in a ponytail. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Sgt. Louis DeShullo at the West Chester Police Department at 610-436-1332 (desk) or 484-356-3844 (cell).
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