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77-year-old retired nurse describes attack at Tucson pizza restaurant

Posted at 6:03 PM, May 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-07 21:23:00-04

TUCSON, Ariz. — Police are still looking for the man who brutally attacked a 77-year-old woman with a metal pipe during a robbery at a Tucson Peter Piper Pizza last week.

Now, the victim is speaking out for the first time, telling KGUN 9 why she feels terrified, angry and confused about what happened.

Diane asked KGUN 9 not to show her face or share her last name. She says she's still scared for her life and doesn't want to face retaliation -- but she does want people to know what happened that day.

Video released by the Tucson Police Department shows Diane leaving the restaurant with two pizza boxes in her hands when the suspect approached her, hit her on the head with a metal pipe and took one of her pizzas.

Tucson Police searching for suspect in violent robbery of elderly woman

"I thought somebody was opening the door for me," she said. "And I turned to say thank you, and I saw this rather short male, rather aged, with an ugly, ugly look on his face and I knew I was in trouble."

As a retired nurse, Diane said she knew she was lucky right after the strike -- the man could've hit her in the face and caused far worse damage.

Tune in to KGUN 9 On Your Side at 10 for the full story.