Woman with baby robbed, punched

A strong-arm robbery suspect punched a woman and stole her purse as she was walking with her baby on Sunday evening in Palo Alto, according to police.

The Palo Alto Police Department received reports of the robbery at 6:39 p.m. Officers responded immediately to the 3100 block of Middlefield Road and conducted an area search, but were not able to locate the suspect, police said.

According to police, the suspect fled on foot and is still at large.

The victim was a woman in her 30s who was attending to her crying baby in its stroller when she felt a tug on her purse. When she realized what was going on, the suspect punched her in the side of the head and grabbed the purse from her, police said.

According to police, multiple people witnessed either the assault or its aftermath. Two witnesses even ran after the suspect as he fled eastbound on Loma Verde Avenue before losing sight of him.

The victim suffered an abrasion to her ear and redness on the side of her head from the attack, police said. Her baby was unharmed.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his twenties with a stocky build, standing roughly 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 6 inches tall, and may have had a full beard, police said. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a black sweatshirt with its hood pulled up over a baseball cap, and jeans, police said.

According to police, detectives are continuing to actively investigate the case. Anyone who may have information regarding this case is asked to call the Palo Alto Police Department’s 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413 or email tips to [email protected].

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