ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County Sheriff's deputies are on the lookout for a man that attacked an Orlando woman in a Walmart parking lot while holding her 2-year-old child this past weekend.
"My heart dropped," said the 19-year-old mother, Mallorie Youngblood. "I was scared for not only my safety, but my child's."
Youngblood said she never saw the attack coming. After leaving church Sunday, Youngblood and her son went to the Walmart on Wakulla, and Oak Ridge in South Orlando.
After stepping out of her car, Youngblood traveled around to the backdoor of the passenger side to get her son out of the car seat. Before she could close the door, she was confronted by a man with a knife.
"I see him walking up to me, I thought he just wanted money, but then he starts stuttering, saying, 'I need that purse,'" said Youngblood.
In a crowded parking lot on a Sunday afternoon around lunchtime, Youngblood said she didn't know what to do. So, she screamed for help and began back-peddling.
"He goes to grab my purse and when he does, it jerks me and my son to the ground," said Youngblood. "I immediately covered his head and fell to the ground with him."
In the process of protecting her son, Youngblood suffered only minor injuries, but sheriff's deputies are now on the lookout for the man who took off with the purse.
Deputies said he is a white male, likely in his late 20s or early 30s, and roughly 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black, button-up shirt with orange flames at the bottom.
After running from the scene, deputies said the man attempted to use her credit card at a nearby Shell gas station, before ditching the remaining contents of the purse in a nearby neighborhood. They think the man likely lives close by.
In the days since the attack, Youngblood has purchased a stun gun and has a warning for the man if she ever sees him again.
"If I didn't have my child, I would have fought until my last breath," Youngblood said.
Anyone with information about the man is urged to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.