Woman, 72, Punched During Upper West Side Street Robbery: Police

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An elderly woman walking on the Upper West Side early Thursday morning was punched in the face during a violent purse-snatching, police told Patch. Police are trying to identify a man captured on nearby surveillance cameras before and after the attack.

The 72-year-old woman was walking northbound on Broadway near West 108th Street around 3:11 a.m. when she was approached by an unidentified man, police said. The man attempted to grab her purse, and when the woman resisted, he punched her in the face several times, police told Patch.

The man was able to wrestle the purse away from the woman and flee down West 107th Street, police said. The purse contained $250, an iPhone and credit cards, police said.

The woman suffered lacerations to her mouth and lips and bruising to her face, police said. She was treated for her injuries at St. Luke's Hospital and release, police told Patch.

The suspect (pictured above) is a man in his 20s, standing 5-foot-3 and weighing around 140 pounds, police said. At the time of the attack the man was wearing a black bubble jacket over a grey hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and sneakers, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

Photo by NYPD