The Memphis Police Department is seeking assistance capturing a suspect in a recent robbery last Saturday. According to Action News 5, a woman was followed from the Peabody Hotel on Union Avenue by a male assailant who eventually robbed her on the Bluff Walk, between Beale Street and Butler Avenue, in Downtown Memphis.
The robbery took place around 8:30 to 8:45 p.m., where the suspect, described as a short male with a husky voice, donning an orange ball cap, a blue jacket, dark pants, and white and black shoes, threatened the victim's life before fleeing with her possessions towards Riverside Drive. The woman was threatened to kill by the suspect if she did not comply in a terrifying encounter not far from a luxury apartment complex.
McKenzie Jones, a resident, told FOX13 Memphis, "It’s really scary and it’s something that, as a young woman, I prepare myself for." She added, acknowledging the inevitability of remaining vigilant, "It doesn’t necessarily limit the amount of times I go out and do things, but I make sure people know where I’m at and have things on me to protect myself."
While the robbery victim from Saturday night was not physically harmed after having her phone and purse seized, it resurrects memories from a previous tragic event in the same area. Running away from the scene after the robbery was the suspect, the encounter unfolds eerily close to where St. Jude Researcher Dr. Alexander Bulakhov was fatally shot during a robbery in November of 2023. "It’s a scary thought to think that you could just be out here and just get robbed, and then somebody lost their life out here. That’s a scary thought," Ashia Williams, a parkgoer, told WREG.
The Memphis Police have appealed to the public, urging anyone with information regarding the suspect to come forward and contact Crimestoppers at (901) 528-CASH.
