RIVERVIEW, Fla. — Security cameras captured a 68-year-old woman being attacked in a busy shopping plaza on Monday afternoon.
Billie Richert said she finished her shift ringing bells for the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign.
She was walking to her car when a man approached her and demanded her keys.
"The man approached me and tried to take my car keys and I told him to get away from me, leave me alone. He said those are my car keys, I said no, they're not, they're mine," said Richert.
Richert said she urged the man to leave her alone or warned him she would use pepper spray. The man threw her to the ground.
"You think you're going to have time to react, and you really don't. It happened so quickly, I didn't have time to think," she said.
The attack happened in a Publix shopping plaza on Boyette Road in Riverview around 3:00 p.m. on Monday, December 4.
Deputies said two men rushed over to help the 68-year-old after hearing her scream.
ABC Action News spoke to one of the men who helped, but he asked us not to identify him. He served more than a decade in the U.S. Army. He suffered two broken fingers but said he did not hesitate to run over and stop the attack.
"With two hands on her, he grabbed a hold of her and threw her to the ground, middle of the street, very violently," he said.
"It wasn't a thought, it was a reaction, it was a reflex, and it's something that I think every man should have when he sees something like that, should immediately get involved," he added.
Richert praises the actions of the two men who got involved. The men held the suspect until police arrived.
"They were terrific in this day and age for somebody to get involved in something they know nothing about and to help somebody, especially an elderly person. It was fantastic. It really was, thank you. I can't say it enough, thank you," said Richert.
Richert urges everyone to pay attention to their surroundings.
"Just be more aware of your surroundings and what is going on around you and the people around you when you're going anywhere," she said.
Deputies arrested 42-year-old Robert Moore. He faces several charges, including robbery by sudden snatching and battery (victim over 65).
