Woman fights off purse snatchers; police seeking suspects, stolen car

Police are looking for suspects in a failed robbery attempt in a grocery store parking lot in Wallingford over the weekend.

Wallingford Police Department officers were called to the Stop & Shop parking lot on North Colony Road in Wallingford after 1 p.m. on Saturday for an attempted purse snatching. Responding officers located the victim, a woman, who said a man from another vehicle had tried to take her purse from her shopping cart while she was putting groceries into her car, police said.

The woman told police she was putting groceries in her car when a silver BMW occupied by a driver and a passenger, both men, stopped near her vehicle. The passenger then got out of the BMW and snatched her purse from her shopping cart before running back to his vehicle, police said.

The victim caught up to the passenger and grabbed her purse back from the man. A struggle between the victim and the man ensued as the driver began to drive away. The victim held on to the purse and was dragged for a short distance before it stopped, according to police.

The passenger pushed the woman away from the vehicle, but she was able to grab her purse.

She ran between some other vehicles as the BMW circled the lot before eventually leaving the scene toward North Main Street, police said.

The woman sustained minor injuries in the struggle with the attempted thieves, police said.

The passenger in the BMW was described as a man in his early 20s, around 6-foot tall, svelte and wearing gray shorts, a black jacket and a blue do-rag, police said.

The vehicle was identified as a silver 2014 BMW X6 with Connecticut license plate AH38573. The car was reported stolen out of New Haven about an hour and a half before the attempted purse snatching, police said.

The suspects are not yet in custody, police said. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact police at 203-294-2800.