Police released surveillance video Monday in the hopes of catching a strong arm robbery suspect who tried to steal an elderly woman's purse in a Whittier parking lot.
The incident happened on April 25 around 5:30 p.m. on the 15600 block of Whittwood Lane.
Four men in a dark colored four-door SUV approached the woman as she walked through the parking lot to get a car for her grandson at Target.
The passenger in the front seat asked the woman for direction to the nearest fast food restaurant, "luring her closer to the vehicle," police said.
When the woman pointed out directions, one of the men then reached for the woman's purse as the driver attempted to speed away.
"They grabbed it, and I grabbed it as it was going," she told NBC4.
Surveillance video shows the woman clinging to the car before she falls to the ground.
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"I still have a lump on my head, my shoulder," she said. "My hip has got a five-by-six-inch bruise on it."
The suspect is described as a male Hispanic in his 20s with facial tattoos.
"It's like unreal, this just never happens in Whittier," the woman said. "This is wonderful community. I just was trying to help, just wanted to help them find a good place to eat. I wish you would be ashamed of yourselves and just go get a job."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Whittier Police Department at 562-567-9281.
