A mother-of-three has been left paralysed after a suspected robber body slammed her to the ground after allegedly following her for nearly 24 miles in Texas.
Nhung Truong, 44, was attacked on 13 February in front of a shopping centre in Houston when she was on her way to buy flight tickets to visit Vietnam.
The woman was reportedly followed for nearly 24 miles after she withdrew money from Bank of America on Blackhawk Blvd.
Ms Truong told the police she was approached by the man, who grabbed her and tried to wrest an envelope full of cash.
Surveillance footage showed Ms Truong dropping her belongings on the ground as the man grabs her from the front. The attacker can be seen running away with what he thought was an envelope with cash, but returned seconds later. He then picked up the woman and body-slammed her to the ground.
“The suspect grabbed the envelope containing the cash and then fled the location,” the Houston police department said in a statement.
The suspect allegedly stole about $4,300 from the woman, which she had been saving to visit her family in Vietnam.
The violence damaged the woman’s spinal cord and left her paralysed. Ms Truong is being looked after by her family and her three kids aged 13, 15, and 20.
“I am feeling very horrible and sad at the same time,” Ms Truong was quoted by Fox26 as saying.
Her children said they were worried about how they are going to make ends meet.
“I can still go to school, but my mind is just messed up thinking about her, worrying that nobody is going to watch out for her,” the victim’s daughter said.
“It’s been really bad. We have to pay rent and stuff and she’s the only one that can work and help us. We don’t know what to do.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Ms Truong’s medical expenses, which has raised $53,000 so far.
According to an update on the fundraiser, the woman’s recovery time has been extended to over two years. “This means that we are unable to work and must provide around-the-clock care for her.”
“… she was supposed to be discharged on March 9, 2023, but her condition has not improved enough to be discharged yet, and the discharge date has been extended to March 15, 2023.”
The police have described the suspect as a Black man in his early 20s.
