Disabled woman robbed outside Atlanta hospital

ATLANTA - A disabled woman is demanding change in security measures after police said she was robbed inside an Atlanta Medical Center parking garage.

The woman who asked to go by “Rena” said she was using her walker to get to her vehicle Friday afternoon, when someone approached her.

“Someone approached me from behind and basically told me drop your purse or I will shoot,” said Rena.

She spoke with FOX 5’s Nathalie Pozo about the frightening incident and expressed her concern about the garage not having cameras.

“This was a life or death situation,” said Rena.  “I thought I would never see my child again.”

The Atlanta Police report states, “There are no cameras inside the parking garage.” The report goes on to say “There is a camera on the ground level that is facing down towards the ground.”

In a statement to FOX 5, an Atlanta Medical Center spokesperson said, to their knowledge there has not been a robbery in the parking garages in at least seven years.  The statement went to say:

“We have not been contacted by the Atlanta Police Department (APD), nor were we alerted by a patient or visitor, regarding a reported robbery in our parking garage. All of the cameras in the parking garages are functioning correctly and we are currently reviewing the video."

But that contradicts what the police report states.  Rena said because she was approached from behind she was only able to get a glimpse of the crook as he ran away and had there been a camera, police may have gotten a better description.

Rena said she wants to see cameras throughout the parking garages, especially in a place where people who may be more vulnerable then others visit.

“We need to step-up security because you have to think about people who are in scooters, people that utilize walkers, these are some people that might be targeted,” said Rena.

Atlanta Police said investigators are utilizing all leads to identify and locate the suspect in the case.