Palo Alto Purse-Snatcher Foiled By Panic Alarm: Police

PALO ALTO, CA — Investigators in Palo Alto are searching for a young man after an unsuccessful purse-snatching in an apartment parking lot.

In a news release Tuesday, police said a woman in her 70s reported the attempted robbery at an apartment complex on Middlefield Road that occurred around 9:30 a.m. Monday. The woman told police she was sitting in her car with the door open when a young man approached her and grabbed the strap of her purse, demanding she hand it over. The woman held onto the purse and hit a panic alarm on her keychain, scaring the suspect away.

Police said the man fled south on Middlefield Road, and the victim was uninjured.

The woman described the suspect as between 18 and 22 years old, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. The woman said the suspect was wearing a black face covering, a blue sweatshirt and ripped blue jeans.

Detectives continue to investigate the case, and said no similar incidents had recently been reported to police.