Transient Arrested In Riverside Smoke Shop Hammer Attack

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — A 45-year-old transient was arrested Thursday morning for severely injuring a Riverside tobacco shop owner during a robbery earlier this week.

Eric Cunningham was taken into custody after a bus driver, who recognized him from TV reports, saw the suspect on an RTA bus and immediately notified authorities.

Cunningham was booked into the Riverside County Jail on one count each of attempted murder and robbery.

The suspect allegedly hit the 52-year-old owner of Smoke Shop Plus on the head with a hammer and stole money from the cash registers Tuesday afternoon.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found the woman bleeding and unconscious inside a locked back room.

She was taken to the hospital, where she remains in critical but stable condition.

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