A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday for shoving a 68-year-old woman down the steps of her Queens church and snatching her purse over the weekend, police said.
The teen was hit with several charges, including robbery and assault, over the early Sunday attack outside St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Briarwood, cops said.
Surveillance video of the crime shows a young man pushing the victim, identified by family as Irene Tahliambouris, down the steps.
While she was on the ground, he ruthlessly stole her purse containing cash, cell phone and a credit card and then drove away in her 2006 Nissan Altima.
The youngster, whose identity was not released because he’s a minor, was also charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
A man who identified himself as a relative of the victim applauded the arrest in a social media post Thursday night while he implored lawmakers to get tough on crime.
“This lowlife is off our streets for now, and we are hoping the system will actually do its job this time. We’re tired of seeing criminals walk free because of our soft on crime laws,” Daniel Coffaro Hill wrote.
“This thug is another example of how petty criminals feel bold enough to escalate their crimes, knowing they’ll likely get off with a slap on the wrist. Despite this, there seems to be a lack of urgency from both Albany and NYC to implement the necessary legal reforms to ensure these individuals are held accountable.”
Tahliambouris remains in the hospital in critical condition, her family said in a GoFundMe page.
Following the attack, authorities ramped up its patrols around the church.
“[Parishioners] were shocked because we don’t have incidents like that here in this area of the neighborhood,” Father Konstantinos Kalogridis previously said. “There was fear, they were angry and sad for the woman as she went through this.”
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
