This is the shocking moment a man swipes a wheelchair-bound pensioner’s monthly allowance.
The suspected thief can be seen walking up behind the helpless 93-year-old in a New York store before snatching at her bra and dashing off with an envelope of money.
Maria Vasquez, who had been shopping for slippers with her carer, said the envelope contained her entire monthly pension worth £450 which she had just picked up from the bank.
She later said she was stunned and scared when she noticed him pawing out her chest, before screaming that he had stolen her money.
“He reached over and startled me, yanking the envelope from my bra,” she told the New York Post.
“He scratched me and took off running. I jumped in my chair because I was strapped in. There was nothing I could do.”
The suspect, with his hair in a bun, and a grey t-shirt and shoulder bag, is thought to have spotted Ms Vasquez withdrawing the money at the bank and placing in her bra.
It had been deemed a safe place as her carer is not legally able to carry her money.
This CCTV has been released by New York police who are still looking for him.
Ms Vasquez, who has been wheelchair-bound since sufffering a stroke, said she will be forced to find another source of income just to cover food and electricity bills.
“He’ll have to take more precaution. It’s scary. I hope this never happens again,” she said.
“I hope... he gets punished but I don’t want the death penalty for him,” she said. “I pray he changes his ways."
