Police search for suspect that assaulted elderly volunteers outside thrift shop
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police are looking for someone who attacked two elderly volunteers right outside of St. John’s Thrift Shop on Central near 14th Street. One of the victims is out of the hospital tonight, but the other is still in intensive care.
Other volunteers at the shop told KOB 4 that the attack was unprovoked and just brutal. They said the victims were two men who were just catching up on the sidewalk Wednesday as they changed shifts at the thrift shop.
A Crime Stoppers bulletin says police are looking for a red truck in connection to the attack, with an Arizona license plate EPA88K. The driver was described as a man with a medium build, blonde/strawberry-colored hair, and light eyes.
Other volunteers were cleaning up blood in front of the shop Friday.
“They were both outside and this crazy person beat them up,” one volunteer said. “Called them f******, it was a hate crime clearly. Totally unwarranted and sudden and horrible.”
One man is in the hospital with a broken femur and injuries to his face. The other man had less severe injuries. The thrift shop is closed while the group recovers.
The thrift shop has been open for 60 years.
“We have strength on our own, and we are resilient, and this will not happen again,” a volunteer said.
Reps with APD say detectives are following leads to determine if this qualifies as a hate crime. The volunteers have already pulled together a $1,500 reward from their own pockets for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers.
Police are also trying to determine if the same suspect is connected to another attack on the same day. About two hours later, a woman reported an assault during a run on her lunch break. She told officers she was running around 12th and Silver – about a half mile from the thrift shop – when she noticed a reddish-orange truck speeding.
The driver reportedly stopped past the stop sign and waved her through, but she waved for him to move on. She said at that point, he exited the truck, walked toward her while cursing, and hit her in the face with a closed fist.
Again, detectives are still trying to figure out if these two incidents are connected. They are both being considered aggravated battery.
Statement from The Very Rev. Kristina Maulden, dean and rector of the Cathedral Church of St. John:
“We have quite a number of older people who volunteer there. One of our thoughts on this quite horrific incident is that many of our volunteers are nervous about coming downtown anyway, and this will make it even harder. Many of the older members are even nervous about coming to church. For our community congregation, we are very aware of the safety issues in Albuquerque. We want to be a part of the solutions to bring peace to our streets.”