Flo Burton, 88, was attacked on the steps of her home in Hamilton Township, Mercer County around 8:30 a.m.
Neighbor Barbara Rivera rushed out of her Klein Avenue home to find Burton, who told her she saw a man with a newspaper come out of a deli and head down her street.
"The next thing she knew she was up to the top stair and someone jerked her with her pocketbook and it was him! She said he pulled her down to the ground and took her bag," said Rivera.
Rivera says she called 911 immediately. Burton had hit her head, her face was bleeding and she broke her right arm.
"It appears as though this is a crime of opportunity. An elderly woman walking home from church and just fell prey to an individual," said Capt. Ed Stevens of the Hamilton Township Police.
Neighbors like Bill Letts, who saw Burton's injuries, are outraged by what happened to the woman they describe as 'the nicest lady on the block.'
"It's an old lady! Anybody that would do it needs to be caught and locked up," said Letts.
The suspect is described as either a dark-skinned white or hispanic or light-skinned black male in his 30s. He had several days facial hair growth, was wearing a brown and yellow jacket and black knit cap.
While police and neighbors keep and eye out for the mugger, deli owner Vicenta Ixcopa says before the attack a man fitting that description was in her store trying to trade a newspaper for a cigar.
He said it was the first time he had ever seen the man.
Burton remains hospitalized in stable condition.
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