Purse-Snatching Pair Attacks 2 Women Within Hours, Cops Say

MANHATTAN, NY — A pair of purse snatchers attacked two women within hours last week, in one case throwing a victim to the ground and punching her in the face, police said.

The man and woman first attacked a 29-year-old in a residential building near West and Morris streets around 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, police said. The pair followed the woman off the elevator, asked her for the time and then grabbed her purse and cell phone from her hands, cops said.

The muggers ran out of the building and down Morris Street.

Less than two hours later, the same pair came up to a 39-year-old woman in a building near Union Square and threw her to the floor, police said.

The thieves punched the woman in the face before taking her cell phone and about $1,200 from her purse before funning out onto East 19th Street, police said. The building was near East 19th Street and Park Avenue South.

Police caught photos of the attackers at the Fulton Street subway station.

Anyone with information in regard to the identities of the individuals is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.