The woman was leaving the Bible study when her purse was stolen from the parking lot.
A 70-year-old woman was robbed as she left the Bible study by a thief who drove past her in the parking lot, police said.
The unidentified woman was leaving the Lebanese Church of Christ in Nashville on Tuesday when the suspect – identified by police as Gilbert D. Ostring, Jr., 48 – allegedly drove alongside her in his silver Dodge 1500 pickup truck and him asked if she knew where nearby shelters were located, the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release.
Surveillance video shows the silver truck pulling up to the woman, who then approaches the driver’s side window. The two talk for several seconds before the driver appears to snatch her purse from her left arm.
The woman maintains her grip on the purse until the suspect walks away. The force sends her to the ground face first, and several contents of her purse are seen flying away, the video shows.
The woman “hit the asphalt hard,” police said, adding that she broke her right hand and sustained facial injuries.
The police have issued an arrest warrant for Ostring and are trying to locate him. They described him as an “ex-con” who has been convicted of multiple counts in at least three other counties in Tennessee for theft, forgery, identity theft, fraudulent use of credit cards and assault. serious, according to the authorities.
Ostring was released from state prison in June 2017, police said.
