Woman beaten, robbed along St. Pete street

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Chilling surveillance video shows the moments before a brutal attack in which a woman was beaten and robbed.  Now, police are hoping someone can help them identify her assailant.

It was just before 9 p.m. last Tuesday when the 53-year-old woman was walking along the 3200 block of 66th Street North. 

Video shared by police shows her walk by, followed close behind by a man walking with a purpose – and, possibly, a pipe.

"A man came up behind her with some kind of a metal pipe and just beat her. It was a pretty brutal beating. And then he just took her purse and then he got away," said Yolanda Fernandez, a spokesperson for St. Petersburg Police.

Police told FOX 13 the beating left the woman, whose identity is not being released, with several broken bones. The attacker robbed her of her purse.

Fernandez said her department finds it disturbing that none of the drivers passing by stopped to help or called 911. The first call to police came in from a passerby who found the woman on the sidewalk after the attack.

"They could have called police, they could have called anyone, even just shining their headlights on the man might have scared him away," Fernandez said.

Neighbors hope police catch the attacker soon.

"A monster. That's all I can say is he's a monster and he needs to be taken off the streets," said Albert Nieves, who lives about a block away from the scene. "The man who done it needs to be punished to the max. It was uncalled for. The lady had her back turned. Never seen it coming."

The attacker is described as a black man in his 20s to 30s, about 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. Detectives say he may have been riding a dark-colored mountain bike and wearing a dark “UPS" NASCAR-style jacket, which police said may have been turned inside-out during the attack.

Police ask anyone with information to contact them at 727-893-7780, or text SPPD with the tip to “TIP41.”