Police are on the hunt for a man who they say robbed an elderly Philadelphia woman.
The 81-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, says she went into a store on the 1100 block of South Broad Street around 1 p.m. back on June 17 to buy a lottery ticket. As she started to leave the store, a man walked behind her and opened the door for her.
Police say the unidentified man had been stalking her the entire time. When the woman reached the 1300 block of South Juniper Street he allegedly put her in a choke-hold, threw her up against a wall, snatched her wallet and then fled on foot west on Wharton Street, according to investigators.
"It shocked me," said the victim's neighbor, Sue Cellini. "I couldn't believe it. Ya know?"
The victim, a widow with no children, says she's afraid that she can't sleep at night. That's why police are working hard to find the suspect.
"The fact that he targeted an 81-year-old female who's just trying to make it home makes him extremely dangerous," said Philadelphia Police Captain Larry Nodiff.
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Police say the suspect was wearing a white t-shirt, dark-colored shorts and dark-colored shoes.
If you have any information on this incident, please call Philadelphia Police.
