A Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare employee was attacked by four young teens in a hospital parking lot before starting her shift Thursday morning, prompting the facility to announce heightened security measures.
Just before 5:30 a.m. Thursday, the woman, who parked her vehicle in a parking lot behind Walgreens, 1202 Magnolia Drive, was followed by a group of four teens as she walked to the hospital, according to a TPD incident summary.
One of the suspects, all of whom have been arrested, “beat” the woman while the others “tried to steal her wallet and keys,” TPD said. The woman resisted, but was “eventually pushed to the ground and hit her head on the concrete”.
She suffered a “serious” but “non-life-threatening” injury, police said.
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Meanwhile, the suspects fled in the woman’s car and were spotted by patrol officers around 8:30 a.m., leading to a chase before finally being stopped on Dade and Brewer streets.
Four youths, aged between 13 and 15, were arrested in connection with this incident on charges including battery of a victim over the age of 65, car theft, trespassing and carjacking. The Democrat names and identifies young teens when charged as adults. State Attorney Jack Campbell was not immediately available for comment.
“Our thoughts are with our colleague, who is recovering. We wish her well as she heals and comes to terms with this traumatic experience,” reads an internal TMH email obtained by the Democrat.
“We are also reminding all colleagues to be mindful of their surroundings as they walk to and from our TMH premises,” the email continued. “Don’t look at your phone when you walk and walk in groups whenever possible.”
In the days following the attack that upset hospital staff, TMH announced increased security measures, including foot security patrols in two morning parking lots, requests for TPD to increase the frequency of their patrols, a lighting survey of all hospital parking lots, and pruning of trees and shrubs, read an internal email.
The hospital also committed to establishing a security awareness committee made up of employees who will work closely with TMH leadership to “identify opportunities to improve security efforts.”
Contact Christopher Cann at [email protected] and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TMH Employee Attacked in Carjacking; 4 teens arrested
