An elderly woman in her 70s was left ‘shaken’ after a knifeman randomly attacked her – with police urgently hunting the crook.
Officers raced to the scene in Middleton, Manchester, after an assault was reported at 11.20am on Thursday morning.
The woman was lucky not to receive any serious injuries, but has been left ‘shaken’ by the attack, police said.
The force has released CCTV footage showing a man they wish to speak to in connection with the incident.
They believe he could have information to assist with the manhunt.
The suspect is still on the loose three days later as he is feared to have been in possession of a knife, police say.
Several parents of the local Alkrington Primary School went into lockdown following the incident.
A police helicopter was above as well as armed officers at the scene, eye witness reports said.
The force has released CCTV footage showing a man they wish to speak to in connection with the incident
Police have urged witnesses to come forward with any information that may help catch the criminal.
A force spokesperson said: ‘Since the report came in, we’ve been carrying out extensive enquiries in the area, speaking with residents and several witnesses.
‘Officers continue to trawl through hundreds of hours of CCTV and extra resources have been dedicated to this to ensure we can build a detailed timeline of events which led to this incident, and the suspects movements thereafter.
‘We continue to work closely with the victim to support her at what is a distressing time.
‘Police have now released a video of a man they would like to speak to as they believe he may be able to assist with enquiries. If you recognise anything about this man, please get in touch with us.’
Detective Inspector Kimberley Hines, from GMP’s Rochdale district, added: ‘We do believe this to be an unprovoked attack which has left a woman incredibly shaken.
‘We know that hearing about this incident will be concerning for our communities, but I want to assure you that extensive work is underway to locate the suspect, and we have additional patrols in the area to speak to residents and offer support.
‘We have a team of detectives and police officers working around the clock to identify who is responsible for this attack, and we are appealing to the public who may be able to assist us.
‘We have released footage of a man we would like to speak to, as we believe he could have information which is relevant to our investigation.
‘Whilst you cannot see his face in the video, we ask if anyone recognises the clothing or perhaps his build, and can help us identify him – please come forward.’
