Woman Assaulted During Attempted Purse Snatching In Woodstock

WOODSTOCK, GA — The Woodstock Police Department is investigating a report that a woman was attacked by a man trying to take her purse while visiting Dupree Park. An officer was dispatched to the park at 513 Neese Road around 2:46 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24.

The officer arrived at the park and spoke with the victim, who recounted the incident. While she was at her vehicle, she said a man sporting a maroon jacket and hood approached her and said "mam mam." She told the male she did not have any money, and "the male then grabbed her jacket," according to an incident report released by the police department.

"She advised her son was in her arms and she threw her purse in the car and the male either hit her with his fist in the face or she was hit with the car door," the officer wrote in the report. "She began running and screaming for help toward other park patrons."

The woman told police she last saw the male near the basketball goals. Cherokee County EMS crews were asked to provide medical attention, and K-9 and detectives were called in to help with the investigation.

According to the report, the only physical description the woman could provide about the subject was that he was Hispanic. Woodstock police spokesperson Brittany Page said investigators are in the midst of following up on details outlined in the attempted theft.

In a Facebook post shared publicly and to the Focus On Cherokee GA Facebook group, the victim said she and other women are routinely told to be careful while they are out alone in public, a sentiment she said can be aggravating because no one should feel afraid to step outside their homes.

Before Wednesday's incident, the victim said she "had a certain sense of security while being out and about," as she believed the things broadcast on the news didn't have a chance of happening to her. That all changed when she was at the park and a male figure came up to her car and "attempted to rob me."

"I put up as much of a fight as I could before finally being able to break away and run," she said.

While her son was a little shaken up following the incident, she said he is OK and that her face also "took a bit of a beating."

"Please, use caution when you’re by yourself," she added. "There are some really crappy people in this world and you never know when it could happen. I am so angry that I feel like I have been robbed of my sense of security. I feel gross. I feel afraid. And that is the worst part."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Woodstock Police Department at 770-592-6000 or its Tip Line at 770-592-6021.

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