BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Friends and neighbors are sharing new details about the couple brutally attacked and robbed in broad daylight in Fells Point, as police continue searching for the man responsible.
The victims have been identified by friends as Wade and Claudia. Baltimore Police have not publicly released their names.
The couple was attacked around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday along the 1700 block of Fleet Street, just blocks from Broadway Market, where a friend says the two had been eating breakfast shortly before the attack.
Takeya Little said she saw Wade and Claudia inside the market Tuesday morning, only to learn the following day that they never made it home.
“He potentially took the life of someone that was just minding their business, was just out for breakfast, and that could be any one of us,” Little said.
Police said the 60-year-old man and 76-year-old woman were assaulted and knocked to the ground by a man who then took off with one of their wallets. Both victims were taken to the hospital. Little said Wade is recovering and has remained by his wife’s bedside, while Claudia remains in critical condition.
Police previously said Claudia’s injuries were so severe that homicide detectives were notified, although authorities have not said she has died.
“Right now we still have Claudia in our hearts and in our minds, and we still have her physically here at this point, so we’re just going to pray on that,” Little said.
Thomas Pons, a chef at Broadway Market, said he remembers seeing a man matching the suspect’s description leave the area shortly after the couple.
“I kind of vaguely remember seeing a white T-shirt with a black stripe on the pants, but that was maybe 15 seconds or so after they left,” Pons said.
Surveillance images believed to show the suspect have since been circulating on social media as police work to identify him.
The daytime attack has rattled people who live and work in the busy Fells Point neighborhood.
“At 9:30 in the morning, it’s terrible,” Pons said.
“These two people are the most giving, loving people,” Little said, “If you needed something, you could have just asked and they would have given it to you. To lose your life over petty, materialistic things is insane.”
As Claudia remains hospitalized, Little is urging the person responsible to come forward and anyone who recognizes the suspect to contact police.
“Turn yourself in,” Little said, “If anyone else knows who this person is, turn them in. Because the same way he did it to them, he can do it to someone else. And the next person might be someone that you love.”
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information about the attack or the identity of the suspect is encouraged to contact Baltimore Police.
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