Upper West Side Purse Snatcher Robs 2 Women Entering Buildings: Police

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Police are searching for a purse snatcher wanted for robbing two women on the Upper West Side in the past two months. The man targeted both women as they were in the entrances of their residential buildings, police told Patch.

The suspect first struck on Dec. 29 at a building on Columbus Avenue and West 107 Street, police said. At around 6:30 p.m. the man approached a 24-year-old woman entering her building, snatched her purse and then fled on West 107th Street toward Prospect Park West, police said.

The most recent purse snatching occurred on Jan. 5 at a building on West End Avenue and West 105 Street. The alleged purse-snatcher approached a 70-year-old woman in the building's entrance, grabbed her purse and shoved her to the ground, police said. The man then fled on West End Avenue, police said.

The 70-year-old woman suffered pain to her forehead and left leg but refused medical treatment, police said.

Photo by NYPD