SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police are trying to track down a man who they believe brutally attacked a woman at random in a North Side convenience store.
The victim is a 55-year-old woman who was shopping inside the store, located in the 1600 block of Blanco Road, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
She told police the attack was unprovoked, and that the man who beat her was a stranger.
"Black eyes, lacerations on the back of her head,” said a relative of the victim, who asked KSAT not reveal his identity. "I believe he was pounding her head on the floor of the store."
Click here to see the extent of the victim's injuries, warning some may it disturbing.
Both he and the woman who was attacked are still too afraid to reveal their identities.
The relative said the attacker was a complete stranger, someone whom the victim had noticed standing outside the business with his dog.
“I think they exchanged pleasantries briefly. She told him that it was a nice dog. She walked into the store,” he said. “I guess a minute or two later, the man follows her.”
He said the man tried to drag the victim toward the back of the store but she put up a struggle. That’s when he unleashed a severe beating, the relative said.
“I can stand here and speculate as to why he did what he did,” the relative said. “Was he mentally ill? Is he on drugs?”
Police still have not discovered the motive for the attack, but they believe they know what the suspect looks like.
They confirmed Tuesday morning that a man who was caught on surveillance camera is the suspect in the case.
The victim’s relatives supplied KSAT 12 News with a chilling image from that video. It shows a tall, thin man with red hair and a bushy beard grabbing the woman by her neck.
“You don't really see something like this very often, that someone is just randomly attacked for no apparent reason,” said Officer Douglas Greene, a public information officer with the San Antonio Police Department.
Yet the investigation shows that is just what happened, Greene said.
The man ran off when a store clerk called for help.
“What's strange about this case as well is that the individual walked into the store with his dog. The dog goes behind the counter and lays down and then the suspect flees without his dog,” Greene said.
Police turned the dog over to Animal Care Services. They are still looking for the suspect, though.
“We do have some leads, pointing us in the right direction, but anything in this case can help,” Greene said.
Anyone who recognizes the man in the photos is asked to call SAPD’s homicide unit at 210-207-7635.
