Massachusetts Lottery: Thug slashes elderly woman, robs lottery winningsAn elderly woman trapped in the narrow entrance of her building was slashed in the gut by a robber who may have wanted her lottery winnings, police said.
Christine Hastings, 62, was about to open the security door of her apartment building on Cumberland Street when a man rushed her from behind, police said.
Police Superintendent Bobbie Johnson said the robber demanded money, but Hastings told him she had none. Johnson said the robber pulled out a knife and slashed her across her stomach, grabbed her purse and fled toward St. Botolph Street.
Hastings made it into the building walking up a flight of stairs to the second floor landing where she collapsed between her apartment and a neighbor's apartment, screaming for help, a neighbor said.
"I think she was in shock," said the woman, who did not want to be identified.
She said she called police while another neighbor gave what first aid he could.
"She was just saying she had been stabbed," the distraught woman said. "She had a towel around her stomach ... This is supposed to be a safe neighborhood."
Hastings was taken to Boston Medical Center, where she is in critical but stable condition.
Johnson said police arrived about 6:55 p.m.
He said police think the robber may have seen the woman collecting her winnings at a store, and followed her home.
He said the robber got away with $200 to $300 and other lottery tickets.
The slasher was described as a 6-foot-tall black male in his late 20s or early 30s wearing a white sweatshirt, and a "wave cap," a knit head covering similar to a doo-rag.
