WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- An 87-year-old woman was hospitalized after she was attacked and robbed in broad daylight outside a Colorado Dollar Tree store.
The woman is in the intensive care unit at Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge, Colorado -- facing a long road to recovery.
"Police better find [the suspect] before I do,” an emotional John Scott said as he described the vicious attack on his 87-year-old mother. "[She has a] broken elbow, broken ribs, head trauma.”
On Monday afternoon, Jan. 7, Patricia Scott drove to the Dollar Tree on West 44th Avenue and North Harlan Street in Wheat Ridge. When she got out of her car, a man robbed her, making off with her purse.
"No sooner did she get out of the car then he came over, threw her to the ground and we think he hit her because she's got multiple injuries," John Scott said.
Surveillance video showed the man knocked Patricia Scott to the ground and dragged her as she tried to hold onto her purse. She finally let go of the bag, as the criminal sprinted from the scene.
"She was very stubborn about it, holding on to her purse for dear life. He got it and ran," John Scott said.
Wheat Ridge police said the suspect had been casing the store for several minutes, at one point walking inside. He followed other customers, but targeted Patricia Scott for her purse.
Police released surveillance photos of the suspect Tuesday:
