Elk Grove Woman Injured By Aggressive Purse Snatchers
ELK GROVE (CBS13) - An Elk Grove woman was attacked Sunday night in Walmart parking lot. Her arms became purple and bruised after she struggled with the man before he got away with her purse.
"Of course, I'm like shocked because it happens to me," said Perla Agustin. "It happens in a split second!"
It happened just after 10 p.m. outside of the Walmart on Elk Grove Blvd.
"I told my daughter open the back, the trunk of the car," Agustin said.
With her purse on her shoulder, the 77-year-old says she was looking for reusable bags.
"And all of a sudden I see that man run right away and grab my bag!"
Agustin's first instinct was not to let go.
"I keep on pulling also because he's pulling," Agustin said. "I keep on holding it. For myself, I usually fight!"
"I told her don't do that," said Julie Cadimas, Agustin's granddaughter. "You know, she got lucky that he didn't have a weapon!"
Cadimas says she's extra nervous for Agustin because she's heard of older Asian women being targeted by criminals.
"How come?" Agustin asked. "We are old women; we are doing nothing, you know?"
Agustin says she was raised not to back down, so she wrestled with the man, repeatedly banging and scraping her forearm against the car. But eventually, she let go, as the man ran towards an awaiting vehicle and sped away.
And even though they took her ID, credit card, and cell phone, they couldn't get away with her tough and resilient spirit.
"I only pray to God that they open their mind, you know, that's it," she said.
Elk Grove Police say the suspect was in a silver or gray sedan, but they have no further information or any description of the driver.
Agustin told CBS13 she likes to visit Walmart at night because it's not as busy but says she doesn't think it's a good idea anymore. Now she's warning other women to keep an out in the lot after dark, so no one else is attacked.
