Font ResizeThe 52-year-old woman, who has not been identified, told West Manchester Township Police she was thrown to the ground and stabbed several times in a robbery just after noon at the former Giant Food Stores parking lot in the 1700 block of Loucks Road.
The victim drove to a nearby business where her husband works to get help. A spokeswoman at the business declined comment.
On Thursday, police offered few further details about the robbery.
"As of yet, we haven't gotten anybody who's witnessed the assault," Detective Sgt. Jeff Snell said.
According to police, the woman stopped as she was driving a white Ford Mustang through the old Giant parking lot for a man who appeared to need help, police said.
The man pulled the woman out of the car, threw her to the ground and demanded money, to which the victim complied, police said. The man threw the woman to the ground again, punched and kicked her and demanded more money, police said. He then stabbed her several times in the abdomen and hip area before running off toward the West Manchester Mall, police said.
"This is out of the ordinary," Snell said of the attack, specifically its brutality and that it was on a busy road in broad daylight.
The attacker is described as a black man in his 20s to 30s with a full beard, medium height and build and short black hair. He was wearing a dark brown
The victim drove to a secured gated area at the business, where police and ambulance personnel responded. She was taken to York Hospital to be treated for several non-life-threatening stab wounds, police said.
"She's doing fine . . . the best you can expect," said Snell, who interviewed the woman.
Scene of the crime
The former Giant parking lot was also the scene of a Nov. 14, 2004, shooting that nearly killed a woman who was seven months pregnant.
Julia Cook was in the parking lot when Noel Gomez fired a shotgun blast near her, tearing off her scalp and leaving the side of her head peppered with shotgun pellets.
Gomez, then 22, of York, was found guilty but mentally ill of attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. He is serving a 20- to 40-year prison sentence.
Gomez was under the "delusional belief" that Cook was carrying the "devil's child," that God would intercede on his behalf and the judge would let him go as long as he repented for nearly killing Cook, according to statements made public at trial.
Cook, then 22, was visiting the area from Watertown, N.Y., while her husband was serving in Iraq. She survived the shooting and gave birth to a son in February 2005.
CALL POLICE
If anyone has information about Wednesday's assault and robbery, they are asked to call West Manchester Township Police at 792-9514 or 911. York County Crime Stoppers at 755-TIPS (8477) is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the person responsible.
