Woman attacked in Lincoln Park Meijer parking lot: 'I'm bruised from head to toe'

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - For Laurie Mulligan, her trip to the Meijer in Lincoln Park was perfectly normal. She got what she needed, then made her way to the car – where she was viciously attacked. 

Mulligan is sharing her story to raise awareness – and also to bring the woman who attacked her into custody.

Mulligan said she was leaving the Meijer on Dix Highway late Wednesday night and was just about to get into her car when she was suddenly attacked.

"This girl was like right there in my face, and she said ‘don’t move’ and she proceeded to try and grab my purse and drag me to the ground," she said.

Mulligan put up a fight but the woman who attacked her just got more vicious.

"I wasn’t letting go of my purse. It was a leather purse, so it was very strong – and she broke the strap on it. She had one end, I had the other," Mulligan said. "She proceeded to punch me in the head about five or six times and I started screaming for someone to help. She covered my mouth and I bit her finger, and she started to get out, and I grabbed her legs and she fell."

A Meijer employee walked outside and realized what was happening – prompting the attacker to get into a car and drive away.

Mulligan, meanwhile, was banged up and bruised.

"My knee, my elbow, my arms, my hips are all bruised. I’m bruised from head to toe," she said.

Her daughter, Tabatha Charron, said it's possible the woman who attacked her was drunk – but that doesn't excuse what she did.

"She did say there was a very strong odor of alcohol coming from this woman. She had an accomplice with her, it feels like they’ve done this before and they’ll do it again, unless they’re caught," Charron said.

Mulligan wasn't really thinking about whether the woman had a gun or another weapon.

"I was thinking I’m going to get away safely. I'm going to try to get away safely, but she had the best of me a couple times," she said.

We contacted both Meijer and Lincoln Park Police for details but we didn't hear anything by 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

"I just want awareness. People need to be aware that criminals are out there, doing this to people who are older, weak – and just to be cautious," Charron said.