'It's such a violation': Woman, 67, robbed outside Village mall
A senior citizen is reeling after being mugged in the parking lot of the Village Shopping Centre in St. John's.
Patricia Maher, 67, visited the mall on Saturday to do some shopping and get a haircut, but just after getting out of her car, she was accosted by a stranger near the Klondike Jake's entrance.
"As I was going forward towards the Village, I felt a tug on my arm," she said.
"When I glanced at the corner of my eye, he was yanking on my arm to get my purse away."
After a struggle over her purse, she said the alleged robber "twisted my wrist and brought my hand behind my purse and yanked the purse."
Getaway car parked nearby
Maher said that wasn't the end of the incident — the robber's getaway car was parked just two spaces down.
"I went to the back of my car and met him as he was getting into the [passenger] seat," Maher told the St. John's Morning Show on Wednesday.
"I put my hand on the window and inside to try and make a grab for his hoodie, but he was telling the girl that was driving 'Go go go!'"
She said she was trying to get her hand in to take back the purse and got caught up in the adrenaline of the situation.
Because it all happened so fast, Maher said she didn't realize at the time that the man could have had a knife or a gun.
She also didn't realize that the driver of the getaway car was starting to drive away.
"They were moving and I was moving along when the car was coming out of the parking lot," she said.
If it wasn't for a young man who yelled out to her from across the parking lot, to 'let go,' Maher said she might have been hurt.
"I knew then I would be dragged and I wouldn't last a second because I wasn't strong enough to hold on," she said.
Helped by stranger
Maher credits the stranger with helping her get more details about the getaway car and making sure she got home safely.
She said he wrote down the licence plate and the make of the vehicle and called the police about the incident.
Maher's purse contained $114 in cash and many of her banking and medical cards.
In addition to the cash stolen, she said her credit cards were used as well.
"They got out about $1,500, whatever the limit was."
Since the incident, she said she hasn't been sleeping well.
"It's such a violation of your person," said Maher.
"These people are preying [on] people either by the wheelchair spaces, I have no idea, or someone that looks like they could be easily taken or robbed."
Maher, who agreed to do an interview but didn't want her photo taken, said the matter is still under investigation by the police.
