Suspect on video

The 90-year-old victim of a vicious, brazen daylight purse-snatching last Friday has been upgraded to stable condition, as police begin to circulate a video of the man suspected of the crime.

Thunder Bay Police Services spokesman Chris Adams on Tuesday said they’re hoping the video, shot outside the Thunder Bay Casino, will provide further clues to the suspect’s identity.

“We have been fortunate to have surveillance video available,” Adams said. “There was surveillance video from the exterior of the casino, but investigators have also discovered other video that was in a laneway leading away from the casino toward Algoma Street.

“In this video what you’ll see is the suspect who is clearly holding what appears to be a black purse, running from the area where the casino parking lot was, where this incident occurred.”

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The attack allegedly took place around 6:55 p.m. on Friday night and Adams said police are also interested in talking to anyone who might have been near the casino at that time, to see if they can glean any insight into where the suspect may have gone.

“We’re especially interested in people on Park Avenue, leading away from the casino toward Algoma Street to contact police if they think they have any information that would help as far as the identity or even the direction of travel of the suspect.”

Adams said the department is putting every effort into finding the suspect, described as a Native Canadian male, standing approximately 5-foot-8. He was wearing a white shirt with a unique design on the front and back, jeans and a black ball-cap.

“The T-shirt that the individual was wearing was probably pretty unique. It has quite a bit of graphic work on the front, and then on the back as well. He was also wearing a baseball cap. It was one of the types where you’ll see a bright sticker on the brim, a dark coloured baseball cap, so somewhere along the line somebody may have seen this individual running,” Adams said.

Police would also like to talk to a shorter female the alleged suspect was recorded speaking with minutes before the incident occurred.

Attacks on the elderly aren’t all that common in Thunder Bay, he added, but they do happen.
Certainly if you look at the number of robberies that occur, they are a concern. Because robbery denotes that there was a threat or use of violence to commit a theft, so to speak.

And in this case, without getting into too much speculation, it could have been, in the beginning at least, viewed as a simple purse snatching.

“But those are serious incidents and in this particular case this lady unfortunately sustained injuries as a result of it. That certainly kicks it up a notch.”

Adams said the woman did put up a struggle, but was limited in what he could release about that because it’s still an ongoing investigation.

“That’s still hold-back evidence for investigators.”

Adams cautioned that just because the victim is in stable condition, because of her age this can change at a moment’s notice.