A woman was attacked and dragged in during a violent robbery outside a bank in Hacienda Heights.
The robbery happened at around 11:30 a.m. Monday outside the Bank of America on South Azusa Avenue.
Video shows the man pulling on the purse, with the woman holding on tight. She was dragged along the parking lot and the man was able to run away with the woman’s purse.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“It's outrageous just seeing the rise in violence,” Mel Fong, a Hacienda Heights resident, said.
The video shows two witnesses who ran to help the woman and chased the robber.
“There's been a lot of robberies and it's not safe now,” Rafael Contreras, a Hacienda Heights resident, said.
Residents say they are angered by the incident but they are not surprised.
The LA County Sheriff’s Department is using the video as part of their investigation in hopes of tracking down the attacker. LASD says they are not sure if the woman was injured.
“We actually moved here years ago because it was a nice community, a safe community but now I won’t come to the bank alone, I won't take my son to the market,” Cristal DeLeon, a Hacienda Heights resident, said.
Some residents say they are changing their routines, making sure they know who is around them and avoiding going to places like an ATM or the bank alone.
Detectives do not have a detailed description of the attacker. Anyone with information is urged to contact the LA County Sheriff’s Department.
