A bold act of self-defense has left a would-be robber injured and on the run, after a 57-year-old woman from Chaguanas fought back against a street attack in El Socorro this past Saturday.
The confrontation unfolded at approximately 3:41 p.m., as the victim was walking northbound on El Socorro Road, just steps from the intersection of Bissessar Street. According to official police accounts, an unidentified man suddenly approached the woman from an unknown direction and made a grab for the gold-toned chain around her neck, aiming to steal the piece of jewelry.
Instead of freezing or surrendering to the attack, the local resident refused to give up her property without a fight. In a quick, instinctive move to stop the robbery, she grabbed hold of one of the suspect’s fingers and bit down hard enough to tear off a section of his fingernail and surrounding skin. Even in the chaos of the struggle, the victim was not able to confirm exactly which of the attacker’s fingers suffered the injury.
Following the unexpected counterattack, the injured suspect fled the scene immediately. Witness descriptions shared by police paint a clear picture of the perpetrator: he is described as a man of African descent, standing roughly 5 feet 10 inches tall with a slim frame. At the time of the attempted robbery, he was wearing a plain purple short-sleeved T-shirt and dark three-quarter length pants. He ran west along Bissessar Street to make his escape.
After the suspect fled, the woman contacted local police to file an official report of the incident. Responding officers traveled promptly to the attack site to conduct on-scene investigations and interview the victim about what had transpired. As part of their ongoing probe, investigators have begun canvassing nearby businesses and residential properties to collect any available closed-circuit television footage that might capture the suspect’s face, escape route, or pre-attack movements. They have also reached out to the North Eastern Division Operations Centre to coordinate access to any public or traffic surveillance recordings from the area.
Investigators have also followed up on another key lead: checking every nearby health clinic and hospital in the region for any patient who came in seeking treatment for a finger injury matching the description from the attack. As of the latest updates, those checks have not turned up any persons of interest matching the profile. To ensure no potential lead is missed, police have notified the department’s central Command Centre to put all frontline officers on alert. If any individual matching the suspect’s description seeks medical care for the specific injury, patrol officers will be notified immediately to respond.
At present, the investigation remains open and active, with Police Constable Ball leading ongoing enquiries into the attempted robbery.