EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) – A 70-year-old Euclid woman is recovering after police say she was brutally attacked and carjacked outside a convenient store Sunday morning.
“This was 8:30 in the morning and it was an extremely vicious attack,” said Euclid Police Captain Mitch Houser. “In my 26 years here at the police department, this is definitely one of the more brutal attacks I have seen.”
Security video obtained by the FOX 8 I-Team shows the suspect waiting behind a parked vehicle for the victim to come out of the store. Once the victim approaches her pick-up truck, the suspect runs up and starts to grab her keys.
“They knocked me down and they stole my 2018 Chevy Colorado,” the victim told a 911 dispatcher shortly after the attack.
Euclid police say the suspect knocked the victim to the ground and kicked her several times. A police report stated she had a “gash from her knee to her ankle.” The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The victim’s vehicle was equipped with OnStar technology and police were able to use that to find the pick-up. The pick-up was located unoccupied in Cleveland near East 72nd and Donald a short time after it was stolen.
Police are now searching for the suspect. Detectives say the suspect is an African-American male, either in his late teens or early 20s. He is about 5’9” tall and around 150 pounds.
Anyone with information on the suspect or the carjacking is asked to call Euclid police or CrimeStoppers of Cuyahoga County at 216-252-7463.
“Attacks on anybody in our city, especially senior citizens, just aren't going to be tolerated,” Houser said.
“We are going to find this guy and bring him to justice.”