Police release sketch of suspect wanted in two Fort Lauderdale robberies
Officials call it a crime of opportunity. It's one of two recent Sunday morning attacks. Police believe there's one suspect responsible for the two different robberies in Fort Lauderdale, with the most recent much more violent than the first.
At around 5:20 a.m. on June 12, a man attacks a woman in a shopping plaza in the 3200 block of West Davie Boulevard. The assault was caught on security camera footage.
The victim says he was trying to steal her purse.
"My instinct was to tussle with him because I never suffered an assault, and I got really scared," she said.
The victim wanted her identity hidden out of fear of retaliation from the suspect. But she showed CBS4's Joe Gorchow one scar above the eye from the assault.
She says the suspect first pointed a gun and hit her with it. She adds that he punched and kicked her repeatedly in the face, stomach and back before being knocked unconscious and dragged to the parking lot.
"I don't know how I survived or made it," she said.
And that's why authorities need your help finding the man. They said he's a male in his 20s, approximately 5'9" and 150 pounds. He was driving a red scooter.
"We fear there will be another victim and continue to escalate his actions," said Fort Lauderdale Police Department spokesperson Casey Liening.
The first robbery on the morning of May 29 resulted in minor injuries to another woman and a stolen necklace.
Anyone with information regarding these attacks is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS (8477).
