The incident happened around 11:40 a.m. on September 24 at at Richard's Fruits and Vegetables on Jerome Avenue.
Julieta Garcia said her 7-year-old son Mike had just paid for some fruit. He turned around to leave the store with change in his hand when a woman snatched it from him.
Officers say when the boy's mother tried to intervene, the suspect punched her in the face.
"After that when I was going to go to get my my boy, she came out with the money and she pushed me and punched me in the chest," Garcia said.
The woman stormed away with $3, leaving Garcia struggling to breathe and Mike traumatized. She says she's thankful her 1-year-old in the stroller was not hurt.
Garcia says she's seen the woman in the past and she had even asked Garcia for money earlier in the day.
Eric Vidals is one of the owners of Richard's Fruits and Vegetables and said he was horrified when he saw the video.
"I just remember that my kids, you know, imagine them going through that, it's really insane and you get mad at the same time," Vidals said.
More than three weeks have passed sinceit happened, but Garcia and her son are still confused and frightened.
"I don't feel safe to go out anymore, I'm scared of going out, you know, to buy stuff and everything," Garcia said. "And my kid, he's the same. He shivers, he can't sleep alone. He gets really scared too."
Authorities say the suspect was last seen fleeing northbound toward East 170th Street.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
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