Purse Snatcher Strikes

In what police called a crime of opportunity, a thief pressed his hand on the back of his female victim, intimated he had a gun and then grabbed her purse and ran. The woman was walking alone through the Littauer Center parking lot last Thursday night when the robbery occurred. The suspect fled towards Massachusetts Ave.

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) investigators say they were not able to determine whether the victim was affiliated with the university. She was not injured.

The victim did not know her attacker and was not able to give enough information to draw a composite of the suspect, said HUPD Detective Sergeant Richard Mederos.

There were no witnesses to the crime. An HUPD community advisory describes the suspect as a white male, from 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall with an athletic build.

He had medium length dark wavy hair with a fair complexion.