She did what most police say you shouldn't do, she fought back.
She has some bruises, but she kept her purse and her dignity.
Dulce Delacruz explained to Eyewitness News in Spanish that she told her attacker "Have a good day" and he said, "Thank you."
That was just seconds before he followed her off an elevator to beat and rob her Monday morning.
She says the bruises on her face and thigh is still sore.
The 67-year-old Dominican immigrant says was on her way to work as a home aid when the man caught on surveillance video punched her in the head, threw her to the ground, and then tried to rip her purse out of her arms, but she fought back.
She screamed until the woman she works for called police, which sent the suspect running down the stairs.
Ms. Delacruz says she refuses to let hoodlums like this guy take over the Fredrick Douglas Houses in Morningside Heights.
So, she's going back to work, despite the fact that her four children don't want her to.
But this grandmother of 16 and great grandmother of 12 says she won't live in fear.
The suspect is still on the loose.
Ms. Delacruz was treated at the hospital.
She has no permanent injuries.
She's been a home aid for 26 years. Despite having a pension she can live on, she still works more than 40 hours a week.
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