Woman's Neck Slashed During Robbery In Pico-Union Coin-Op Laundry

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Authorities are looking for a man who slashed a woman's neck while robbing her as she was using a coin-op laundromat in the Central Los Angeles neighborhood of Pico-Union Thursday night.

Los Angeles police report that the attack occurred at about 6:15 p.m. in the area of Vermont Avenue and Venice Boulevard.

The 40-year-old woman was in the laundromat when the suspect approached her from behind, grabbed her purse and simultaneously slashed her neck with an unknown sharp object, police said.

The woman immediately collapsed to the ground as the suspect fled with a $20 bill the victim was holding while in front of a change machine. He was last seen running east on Venice.

The victim was rushed to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery for a neck laceration. Her condition was unconfirmed.

"I came running, the lady was already on the ground," security guard Sergio Cedillo said. "The guy, he was already gone."

Cedillo said the suspect dropped a plastic bottle during the altercation and hopes police can identify him through DNA or fingerprint evidence.

"I feel, like, you know, helpless because, you know, I couldn't do anything," Cedillo added.

Police released surveillance video of the suspect. The attacker is described as Hispanic, 25 to 35 years of age, 5-foot-5, 170 to 180 pounds with a thick dark goatee. He was wearing a gray baseball cap and all-black clothing at the time of the incident.

"It doesn't surprise me, at all," customer Angel Garcia said. He told CBS2 he always goes to the laundromat with his wife.

Anyone with information on the suspect's identity or whereabouts should call police at 213-382-9446.