Woman, 88, Punched Unconscious During Mugging In Montclair

MONTCLAIR (CBSLA) – Authorities are looking for a man who punched an 88-year-old woman before mugging her outside a 99-Cents Only store in Montclair Wednesday afternoon.

Montclair police said the attack, which was caught on grainy surveillance video, occurred at 1:18 p.m. in the parking lot of the store, located in the 5200 block of Moreno Street.

According to police, the suspect approached the victim and her 72-year-old friend while they appeared to be loading a vehicle. He then proceeded to steal the 88-year-old woman's purse, punching her in the face, which sent her falling to the ground.

When the suspect tried to also steal the purse of the victim's friend, she screamed for help, which prompted him to let go of it and run away. He fled in a silver four-door car, police said. They believe the car had a female get-away driver.

Police said the pair ran a red light and nearly hit another vehicle making their escape.

Officers arrived on scene to find the victim unconscious on the ground. When she regained consciousness, she had no memory of the robbery, police said.

CBS2's Amy Johnson spoke to horrified shoppers who couldn't believe anyone would punch an elderly woman.

"It's tragic, poor thing," said one woman.

"I think that person is sick," said another.

"It is a very heinous robbery," said Detective Michael Lang of the Montclair Police Department. "And the suspects do need to be found."

The suspect was described as a black man with a thin build. Anyone with information on his identity is asked to call Montclair police at (909) 621-4771.