Man steals elderly woman's vehicle

A carjacking assailant was being sought after forcefully taking the car of an 81-year-old woman providing meals to the homeless at a Redlands grocery store parking lot, authorities said Tuesday.

The carjacking took place Monday at the Stater Bros. market at 11 E. Colton Ave., just after 3:30 p.m., the Redlands Police Department said in a news release. The victim was handing out meals to homeless people in the area when the assailant approached her and took her car keys from her, police said.

The assailant got into the woman’s 2015 silver Kia Sportage and fled the parking lot, knocking the woman to the ground in the process as she was holding onto the driver’s door, authorities said. The woman’s car had a California license plate of 8AZF716, police said.

The stolen car was last seen headed west on the 10 Freeway from Orange Street in Redlands, authorities said.

The assailant was described as a man in his 30s with a medium build, short black hair and an Aztec tattoo on his hand, police said. He was last seen wearing dark jeans and a black T-shirt, officials said.

Police posted surveillance footage of the incident.

Anyone with information about the identity of the assailant or with video from the area where the robbery occurred was asked to contact Redlands Police Detective Reuben Cordoba at 909-798-7623 or email rcordoba@redlandspolice.org