D.C. police yesterday released a security videotape that shows an 83-year-old woman being punched, kicked and stomped during a daylight robbery this week in Northwest Washington.
"It is a brutal beating. It's one of the worst beatings I've seen captured on tape," said Sgt. John D. Rucker. "Everybody that has looked at it has cringed."
The woman, who was in stable condition yesterday with a broken cheek and nose, works as a street vendor, selling hats, T-shirts and umbrellas. Police declined to release her identity or say how much was taken in the robbery.
The crime unfolded at the rear entrance of an apartment building in the 700 block of 24th Street NW. The video, taken by a camera in the complex's loading dock, shows the robber sitting on a curb at 4:23 p.m. He appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties and of medium build, with a backpack slung over a shoulder.
The woman comes into view a few minutes later, pushing her vending cart. The man approaches her from behind, and the two exchange words, the video shows. He appears agitated and puts an index finger to his lips. Suddenly, he rears back and punches the woman in the face. It appears that he might have a brick or other heavy object in his hand.
The man then drags the woman a few feet and punches her on top of the head and again in the face as she falls to the ground. He quickly goes through her jacket, stealing cash from her pockets. As he rips the jacket apart, he kicks the woman three times in the face, then delivers three more swift punches to her head.
After taking the undisclosed sum of cash, the robber walks away. A few minutes later, passersby come to the woman's aid and call an ambulance.
The attack outraged neighborhood residents and the victim's friends.
"It's absolutely horrible," said John Giroux, who performs maintenance at the apartment building. "It's crushing. This guy just cold-cocked her."
Others said the incident made them nervous and upset.
"It makes me feel terrible," said Elizabeth Adams, 96, who lives in the neighborhood. "You don't feel safe anymore."
Vendors at the Foggy Bottom Metro stop said they, too, were shocked by the robbery and beating of a hardworking woman they know as "Grandma."
They said the victim typically sets up her stand before dawn and works until late in the afternoon. Then she pushes her cart to her home, which is about 11/2 blocks from the Metro stop. She was robbed while on her way home.
Nasir Shahid, a fellow vendor, said the attacker had picked on a "very decent old lady."
"He stalked her," Shahid said. "It's not right for an 83-year-old to get stomped like that."
Police said they released the tape in hopes of identifying the assailant.
They urged anyone with information to call detectives at 202-727-9099.
A security camera recorded an elderly woman being attacked behind an apartment building in the 700 block of 24th Street NW.A security camera recorded an elderly woman being attacked behind an apartment building in the 700 block of 24th Street NW.A videotape from an apartment building's security camera shows a man approaching a vendor pushing her cart.The attacker confronts the woman in the area of the building's loading dock before robbing and beating her.
