Boy, 13, arrested for robbing elderly woman

A 13-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday for robbing an 86-year-old woman in Geldrop last month. The victim sustained a serious head wound and lost consciousness during the robbery, Omroep Brabant reports.

The woman was robbed around 7:30 p.m. on April 3rd on De Bleek in Geldrop. A boy grabbed her and grabbed her handbag. The elderly women fell and hit her head. She had to be treated in hospital.

The police shared details of this case on Opsporing Verzocht, and that led to 30 tips. "They led very quickly to the suspect. He was even mentioned by name and surname", a police spokesperson said to the broadcaster. 

According to the spokesperson, the high number of tips shows how indignant the Geldrop community is about this "brutal and cowardly robbery".

The spokesperson called it "very exceptional" that the suspect in this robbery is only 13 years old. "This happens at most once or twice a year. In March we arrested a 15-year-old boy for a robbery on Kastelenplein in Eindhoven. He was in the company of two 17-year-olds. But a 13-year-old robber, no we seldom experience that."

The elderly victim is still not doing very well, the spokesperson said to the broadcaster. "She got an ugly blow to her head and is still dizzy. But just as serious is the mental blow she received. The woman is still anxious and no longer dares to cross the street."