Police: Man Wanted For Robbing 85-Year-Old Woman At Knifepoint In Westbury
WESTBURY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A shopping trip turned into a frightening ordeal over the weekend for an 85-year-old woman on Long Island.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, a knife-wielding man demanded cash as he carjacked the woman on Sunday afternoon in the middle of a busy shopping center parking lot.
The suspect remained on the loose a day later.
The robbery happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of a Walmart on Old Country Road in Westbury.
Police said the victim getting into her car when the man armed with a large knife walked up to her and demanded money.
He then forced the woman into the passenger seat of the car, took her keys and drove to a Chase Bank in 15 miles to the west in Elmont, police said. At the bank, he forced the woman to give him her ATM card and PIN and then withdrew an unknown amount of cash, police said.
He then drove to Dutch Broadway in the area of Audrey Avenue, where he got out of the car and fled, investigators said.
The woman suffered non-life threatening injuries to her upper body.
"An 85-year-old female has the fortitude to drive herself to the Fifth Precinct, so we are dealing with a very, very strong woman," said Nassau County police Lt. Richard LeBrun.
The carjacking happened along a busy road jammed with Sunday shoppers, yet no one noticed the woman being whisked away at knifepoint.
"You hear more and more things about older people getting punched; knocked out," one man said. "They have no respect for anything, let alone older people."
"I would never think that would happen, especially like an older lady -- that's really tragic," said shopper Ivanna Mangiafreno.
"Definitely makes us like want to be more aware of what's going on – especially like us, like it's a really tight-knit community, so there's a lot of communities. It's not just Westbury – it's Carle Place, Mineola, Garden City," said shopper Geraldine Delgado.
A spokesman for Walmart told CBS2 they can see on surveillance video that the suspect was never inside the store. He was only in the parking lot.
Police do not believe this was part of a larger pattern of crimes.
Police describe the suspect as a black man in his 20s between 6' and 6'1'" tall with a thin build wearing a dark baseball hat. They released a sketch late Monday.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
