Female Suspect Attacked Elderly Woman On SEPTA Bus After Plastic Bag Touched Her, Victim's Friend Says
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 70-year-old woman is badly injured after she was attacked on a SEPTA bus. Transit police are now working to track down the female suspect who they caught on surveillance video.
The victim is still in the hospital dealing with serious facial injuries Wednesday night.
A close family friend of the victim says that the attack occurred after the plastic bag that the victim was holding touched the woman riding next to her, setting her off.
"She's somewhat special needs -- totally capable out and about all day, everyday and she's a hard worker but she comes here to feel safe, to feel protected," friend of the victim Dana Gibson-Rogers said.
Police say the 70-year-old woman was attacked by a stranger while riding on the Route 70 bus around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"She was in my kitchen just profusely bleeding. She had a rag up to her face and I just saw her and I hugged her," Gibson-Rogers said.
According to SEPTA police, the incident occurred shortly after the suspect boarded the bus across the street from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road.
"We don't know any motive. It does not appear to be a robbery. At this point, we need more information so we can come to a conclusion to exactly what transpired and why it transpired," SEPTA Police Lt. Michael Wright said.
The victim told those close to her that the woman sat next to her on the bus, then became upset about a plastic bag the victim was holding, and unleashed. Gibson-Rogers says a winter jacket was in the plastic bag.
"She's got multiple breaks on her face including her nose and her orbital bone," Gibson-Rogers said.
The suspect is described as a black female in her 30s, with black hair. She was last seen wearing a black jacket, yellow shirt, black pants and black shoes.
SEPTA does have video of the attack but says they can't release it to the public just yet.
If you have any information about this incident, call police at 215-580-3486.
