ST. LOUIS — A 74-year-old woman was assaulted, robbed of her car keys, and had her car stolen inside Forest Park Saturday night, according to St. Louis police.
According to an incident summary from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the woman was walking with her son to her car in the visitor center parking lot on Grand Drive in Forest Park at around 9:30 when she was attacked.
Police said a teenager approached the woman, pushed her into a parked car, and knocked her to the ground while trying to steal her key fob.
Police said the robber forcefully removed the keys from her hand and used it to locate the woman's car, a 2014 Ford Edge. The robber then jumped into the car and drove away.
Samir Mujdzic and his wife were leaving a Shakespeare show in Forest Park that night when they noticed a person on a bike lurking around the visitor center parking lot. Samir said his wife could tell they were being followed.
"She told me that she knew that he wanted to do something like that. That he was a criminal, and he was about to do something," said Mujdzic.
Seconds later, they say the teen did the unimaginable to a 74-year-old woman right next to her son, who is disabled.
"I heard like a really, really loud scream, like, from a horror movie or something. "I was like, let's go see if someone needs help. And we drove over and like I saw his bike in the middle of the street," Mujdzic said.
Mujdzic said the woman flagged them down for help.
"She came over crying. She said that the guy, like, threw her on the ground, took her car keys, her phone, and stole her car, and she was bleeding from her arm," he said.
This happened while the woman and her son were on a walk near the Muny.
"It was sad. Like, how someone can just go after an elderly woman with a disabled son? It was just very brazen of him to do that. Especially because the area was like very well lit," Mujdzic said.
Mujdzic said he was thankful he found her and was able to get her help.
"She was crying and looked traumatized. She didn't have her phone. So she couldn't call like a daughter."
Mujdzic said he immediately called 911 and waited with them until park security/rangers and police arrived.
Kwofe Coleman, president and CEO of the Muny, said park rangers and private security also quickly responded.
"We heard over the police radio that there was a woman who had been assaulted in one of the visitor's center lots. So luckily, we have a lot of police and security here. So they went over to see if they could assist," Coleman said.
Coleman said his team then brought the woman to their lobby until police came. She suffered a minor arm injury and was treated by emergency medical personnel at the scene.
"It's an unfortunate, isolated incident that happens within the park. She wasn't a Muny patron, but she was outside trying to deal with it. If someone needs help anywhere, we're able to help them. But we're happy she's okay," said Coleman.
St. Louis County police found the car about an hour and a half later in the area of Jennings Station Road and West Florissant.
A 16-year-old was taken into custody.
Mujdzic said the elderly woman mentioned something before he left: "She was like, 'I can't believe this happened. It's my birthday tomorrow.'"
The woman, who had a birthday the day after the attack and is now 75, has since had her car returned to her.