Mugger breaks 93-year-old woman's back in robbery on Amsterdam street

A man violently mugged a 93-year-old woman in Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon. He struck her on the head and threw her to the ground, breaking her back. The man fled with her handbag. The police are looking for him.

The mugging happened just before 2:00 p.m. on Comeniusstraat, the police said. Responding officers searched for the suspect, but he is still at large.

“Yesterday afternoon, my mother was walking to a friend’s house for a game of Rummikub,” the victim’s son told Hart van Nederland. “She had only just left home when she suddenly felt a blow to her head and was forcefully thrown to the ground.”

Neighbours heard the woman screaming. They rushed to her aid and contacted the emergency services. The suspect had already fled the scene when the police arrived.

The police are looking for a light-skinned man of around 40 with light brown hair. He was wearing a dark-colored winter coat and carrying a large weekend bag. Investigators asked witnesses to come forward.

The elderly woman is in “unbearable pain” after the attack, her son told Hart van Nederland. “We can hardly comprehend that someone is capable of such a cowardly act.”

According to him, his mother’s handbag contained nothing of significant value. “€30 and a set of Rummukub tiles.”