Woman beaten inside bakery for not letting go of purse, which held funds for kids Christmas gifts

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Eyewitness News is learning more about the beating of a woman at a bakery in southwest Houston back in December.

Houston police released surveillance video this week of a man hitting a woman at a bakery on Bissonnet Street.

Police said a woman wouldn’t hand over her purse to a suspected robber, so the man tried to forcibly grab it and began hitting her in the face until two men interfered.

She told that the man did not get away with her purse, but left her badly bruised. She said the man left the store, and employees locked the door behind him.

Investigators said the man went to get a bat outside and repeatedly hit the locked glass door until it shattered. The bakery also has gates behind the door so the man was unable to get inside the second time.

The victim told  she went to the hospital for her injuries. She calls the situation traumatizing as she was hit repeatedly while holding on to her bag for dear life.

Investigators said the victim had a bad gut feeling about the man outside and decided to stay inside the bakery, but then the man walked in demanding her purse, and the attack began.

Investigators are still looking for the suspect, so the woman asked to protect her identity.

The victim told ABC13 she was trying to buy bread for Christmas Eve dinner when she was attacked by a man she’d never seen before who was demanding her purse.

She said that day could’ve been her last and thanked God for helping her get through it.

With her hands clenched behind her back and filled with nerves during our interview, the victim said she’s a single mother of three who works two jobs, and the money in her bag was for her children’s Christmas gifts.

She said she was desperately shouting for help as the man was hitting her on the head. She told everyone ran away, including the employees of the store and she was left alone to fend for herself.

Police said that’s until two men walked into the bakery and threatened the attacker if he didn’t stop hitting her.

The victim now lives in fear and says she’s traumatized. She calls the robber dangerous and hopes he is caught soon and off the streets.

As for the baker, tried to get workers to talk to us this afternoon about the situation, but we were told their supervisors were unavailable.