It’s a brutal attack, captured on surveillance video in the middle of the day.
In the video, released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, a 76 year old woman approaches the doors of a Publix on Glades Road back on June 13th at 5:30PM.
Two men line up on either side of the door ready to strike.
One of the men lunges as the woman, grabbing her purse.
The woman, still holding on, is dragged to the ground as the suspects take off.
The men only got away with a blue coupon pouch, as the woman was able to keep her purse.
“I’ve been shopping here for years, and I don’t think it’s dangerous,” one shopper told us. “But you never know what could happen. You know, it could happen anywhere.”
Phyllis Atwell says it’s a sign of the times.
“I’m surprised to see things like that happening here, but its not surprising, know what I’m saying?” she says.
Not surprising she says - and as statistics from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show - not uncommon.
Purse snatchings in Palm Beach County spiked to 120 incidents in 2013 before dropping to 82 in 2014.
In 2015, it jumped back up to 88 incidents.
The video has some reconsidering their shopping plans.
For people like Atwell, it had them thinking about what they would do if faced with such a brutal assault.
“For me it would be like take it…bye,” she says. “I gotta get home tonight. I'm not going to the hospital.”
PBSO tells us that 76-year-old woman received a head laceration - she was brought to West Boca Hospital for treatment.
As for the suspects, they are described as black males, 6 feet tall, 17 to 20 years old.
One was wearing a hat, white shirt, red shorts, the other wearing all black.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS or you can remain anonymous by downloading the PBSO “CONNECT & PROTECT”, “See Something Say Something” app for your Apple or Android Smart Phone.
