A woman in her 80s was seriously injured after being knocked to the ground by a man who attempted to grab her handbag in Belfast city centre.
The attempted robbery happened at Great Victoria Street on Thursday night (May 12) around 10:25pm.
Sergeant Matt Boucher said the woman had been walking down the street when an unknown man ran past her and attempted to pull her handbag out of her arms.
“The victim held on to her bag before the suspect forcefully pulled her to the ground, causing her to hit her head on a black metal bollard. She was taken to hospital for treatment to serious injuries which, thankfully, are not believed to be life-threatening at this time.
“The suspect ran off along Great Victoria Street, in the direction of the city centre,” he said.
The suspect is described as being approximately 5ft 10″ in height and was wearing a dark navy jacket with a blue upper panel and hood, dark tracksuit bottoms and grey trainers.
“This was a terrifying experience for the victim, who sustained a serious head injury as a result. We are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything, or who may have dashcam or other footage, to contact police on 101 quoting reference 1813 of 12/5/22,” said Sergeant Matt Boucher.
Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.