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Uploaded: Sunday, December 2, 2012, 5:10 PM
Woman fights off purse snatcher downtown
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A woman walking near downtown early Sunday morning thwarted a robbery attempt and was able to keep her purse despite her attacker punching her in the face several times before fleeing empty-handed, according to Palo Alto police.
At approximately 1:07 a.m., a woman ran to the Palo Alto Police Department's parking garage on the corner of Forest Avenue and Bryant Street, screaming for help. A police employee working inside the building heard the screams and exited to find the victim crying and bleeding from her nose. The woman reported that she had just been robbed.
"The victim, a woman in her 30s, was walking in the 200 block of Homer Avenue. She was listening to music, and had both ears covered with headphones. She was suddenly pushed down to the ground from behind by an unknown suspect. As she was falling, the victim felt the suspect tugging on her purse. The victim rolled onto her back and held tightly to her purse as the attacker began to repeatedly strike her in the face. He hit her between six and eight times.
"The victim then kicked the suspect in his midsection, causing him to back off of her and flee empty-handed. The victim got up off the ground and ran after the suspect. She chased him westbound on Homer Avenue, to northbound on Ramona Street, to eastbound on Forest Avenue, where she stopped at the police garage and yelled for help. The suspect continued eastbound on Forest Avenue and the victim lost sight of him. Officers from the Palo Alto Police Department scoured the area but were unable to locate the suspect," the news release noted.
The suspect was described as a black male in his 20s or 30s, over 6 feet tall, wearing a dark or black long-sleeved hooded sweatshirt or jacket and dark pants. He wore the hood over his head. The suspect was not armed with a weapon.
Police reported that the victim suffered swelling to the left side of her face and had cuts to one of her lips. Personnel from the Palo Alto Fire Department attended to the victim, and a police officer transported her to a local hospital for follow-up evaluation.
Police recommend that people remain aware of their surroundings when out for walks, and report suspicious behavior immediately to 9-1-1. And while it may not prevent a robbery, police also recommend that pedestrians and joggers not cover both ears with headphones, so as to be better aware of their surroundings and anyone who may be approaching them from behind.
Detectives from the Palo Alto Police Department are actively investigating this incident. Police ask that anyone who may have information about this crime contact our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.— Palo Alto Online staff Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Truedy, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Dec 2, 2012 at 5:26 pm Where else does a mugger run *towards* the police station in the course of his getaway? Was he running back to his cell?
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Posted by huh?, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Dec 2, 2012 at 7:16 pm How is it that it's even possible in this information age for anyone to get away with stealing credit cards, cell phones, or computers?
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Posted by some_chick, a resident of Woodside, on Dec 2, 2012 at 7:36 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by MMelissa, a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood, on Dec 3, 2012 at 11:00 am
MMelissa is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online I'm so proud of this woman for fighting back. Everyone should learn enough self-defense to follow her lead.
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Posted by Quantum Bread, a resident of the Palo Alto Orchards neighborhood, on Dec 3, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Quantum Bread is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online Sounds like victim has good survival instincts! Screaming while actively defending herself buys time for citizenry to come to her aide. Another take-away: bystanders should be prepared to quickly help out by perhaps defending victim, "sound off" (he went that-a-way), so mugger can't easily slip away, call 911, take videos. Unfortunately, assailant wasn't apprehended immediately but glad she should heal up quickly.
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 3, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Hmmm is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online Why was some-chick's good comment removed? It's flat out stupid to walk around alone in the middle of the night wearing earphones. It's pretty hard to stay safe when you block your own sense - & look what happened. The bad guys look for people like her to rob.
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Posted by Some Chick, a resident of Woodside, on Dec 3, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Some Chick is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online Hmmm ... thanks I wondered the same.
Perhaps it seemed that I was blaming the victim; I wasn't. I was just amazed that anyone would be walking alone at that hour without being able to hear their surroundings. Especially considering the alarming increase in these kind of attacks in Palo Alto.
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 3, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Hmmm is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online Yep, exactly, Some Chick. We all have to try to make ourselves less likely targets, espec during the holidays - that is, if we don't want to get into a fight w/some thug. Of course it's not her fault. We have to reframe that whole line of thinking so we focus on doing whatever we can to stay safe. I'm really glad that her fighting back worked well for her & I hope that this idiot gets caught.
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Posted by Pearl, a resident of Menlo Park, on Dec 3, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Pearl is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online WHY do women continue to walk the streets LATE AT NIGHT? ALONE? With headphones covering BOTH EARS, no less? We have been warned time and time and time again, NOT to WALK ALONE during dusk, evening and dawn hours! How many more women are going to have to be robbed, beaten, assaulted, etc., before they learn NOT to walk ALONE when no one else (except the bad guys) is around?! [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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