Walking into a chic apartment building with a security guard manning the door at 10 a.m. on a weekday should be one of the safer scenarios in Philadelphia.
Not so for a 93-year-old woman Monday morning.
Two men followed the elderly woman into 1500 Locust Apartments 10:08 a.m. Monday. While one man distracted the security guard seated at the door, the other walked into the lobby and followed the woman onto an elevator, surveillance video shows.
Once on the elevator, the man waited for a third person to exit and then pushed the petite woman into a corner and rifled through her bag, Philadelphia Police say.
After taking her wallet, various credit cards and $6, the man pushed the 93-year-old out of the elevator, onto the floor, kicking her. She suffered bruises and a broken left wrist and was briefly hospitalized after the attack.
The man who allegedly beat the woman is described as a black male, 6-feet, 2-inches tall, 195 pounds and between 30 to 40 years old. He was wearing a white polo hat, black glasses with metal frames, a red long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants. (See surveillance video)
Anyone with information on the two suspects should call Central Detective Division at 215.686.3093 or 215.686.TIPS.
The building where the beating happened released a statement Friday:
The management of 1500 Locust is working closely with the Philadelphia Police Department, in order to apprehend a suspect after a purse snatching lead to minor injuries of one of our residents. We are providing the police with video imagery and photos. Because a number of cameras were added in July as part of a major building renovation, we are able to assist the authorities in their pursuit of these two offenders. The expectation is that someone can identify these two individuals from the footage 1500 Locust has provided.
