Los Angeles police are investigating a violent robbery in Chinatown that has left an elderly smoke shop worker hospitalized.
What happened: The incident, which was caught on surveillance video, occurred at Angies Boutique in the 800 block of N. Broadway just before noon on Thursday. In the video, a man can be seen knocking the worker to the ground before reaching for something over the counter.
When the worker tries to stop the thief, he sends her back to the floor with a punch and leaves the store with two pieces of art worth $5,000.
“She was tugging on him to try to stop him, and she’s a smaller woman. She is maybe 100 pounds and he’s a taller gentleman,” store owner John Nguyen told NBC Los Angeles. “And he just punched her right in the face, like closed fist and everything. I mean, who punches an old woman? It’s disgusting.”
The aftermath: The victim, identified as Van Huynh, sustained bleeding from the punch and remained at the hospital with a swollen eye as of Thursday night. Nguyen told Fox 11 that she was an elderly employee.
What’s next: Doctors are reportedly waiting for the swelling in Huynh’s eye to subside so they can make further assessments. Meanwhile, Nguyen is offering $5,000 for information that leads to the suspect.
The store owner believes the attacker was the same man who visited the store the day before and acted suspiciously.
“He said he wanted to purchase the item so we came over to the register to ring it up,” he told Eyewitness News. “He started holding the item in an arm, kind of tucked it away into his arm and then turned a little bit at the door.”
Police, however, are looking for two individuals in connection with the incident — the suspect and his alleged accomplice.
