Outside Walmart, Woman Assaulted, Victim Of Purse-Snatching: Police

BRANFORD, CT — A middle-aged woman was assaulted and had her purse stolen in the Branford Walmart parking lot Tuesday around 7 p.m., police said.

The woman was returning her cart in the lot when, WTNH reported, she was "returning her cart in the parking lot," she was "assaulted by several males" and suffered minor injuries.

Branford Police Deputy Chief John Alves told Patch an officer saw "the suspect vehicle" speeding away from the scene and "engaged the officer in pursuit southbound on I-95." The chase was "terminated due to the reckless operation of the suspects," Alves said.

Later, officers from Yale Police Department found the unoccupied car in New Haven, Alves said, adding it was determined to be a stolen vehicle. Seized as evidence, it's "being processed by Branford Police Detectives as part of an ongoing investigation," Alves said.

Branford Police have increased patrols of commercial areas in response to an increase in this type of theft, Alves told Patch.

"We remind the public to be alert of their surroundings while in parking lots of commercial businesses and to call police if they observe suspicious activity," he noted, adding the police department's thanks to Yale Police for their help.