Suspect beat 74-year-old woman, steal dog in gas station carjacking

Click here for updates on this story

    Atlanta (WGCL) — A brazenly violent sneak attack sent a 74-year-old woman to the hospital with severe injuries.

Police say Rosa Smith came to the Chevron gas station on Gresham Road in Atlanta to vacuum her car Thursday evening when a guy ran up and attacked her in a violent carjacking.

Smith, a retired attorney from California, had to have surgery for severe injuries to her face. She also has hip injuries.

The store manager at the gas station only three days on the job, got emotional talking to CBS46’s Hayley Mason about the attack he later saw on surveillance video.

“We need to be helping senior citizens not attacking them,” the man said. “She’s the same age as my grandmother when my grandmother passed.”

He began to cry.

“She was just trying to vacuum her car out and the guy snuck up around the side of the car and attacked her,” the manager said.

Police say there are three suspects, the guy in the grey jean jacket who stole the car and his two friends pictured on surveillance video.

“The primary suspect was hanging out in front of the gas station while the other two suspects where down at the corner of the gas station,” said DeKalb detective J. Kearney. “While the victim pulls into the gas station, you can see on the video that all three suspects kind of react,” he added.

The woman’s eight-year-old dog Daphne, a black and white Terrier mix was inside the vehicle and was stolen too.

“If you know these guys, please let us know,” Kearney said, explaining that they’ve gotten tips about the suspects but still need their full names. “If you know where this dog is at, please let us know. If you’ve seen this car, please let us know.”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.