One woman is still in hospital with a serious head injury and a second woman is recovering from multiple injuries following two early morning muggings.
Both robberies happened Thursday morning, the first sometime before 4:25 a.m. when a male passerby reported finding a woman injured on the sidewalk near the Husky gas station on Terminal Avenue.
The victim, 51, from Nanaimo, told police she was walking in the downtown area when she was struck from behind.
Once on the ground her assailants took her wallet.
She eventually got up and made her way to the gas station from where she was taken by ambulance to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital to be treated for injuries to her head, face, shoulders and hands.
Police said they have little to go on other than the attackers appeared to be in their late teens or early 20s.
“We don’t even know exactly were the robbery took place,” said Sgt. Sheryl Armstrong, Nanaimo RCMP spokeswoman.
A second woman was attacked while walking on Dunster Road at about 7:20 a.m.
The victim, 28, told police she thought she heard the sound of kittens coming from behind a dumpster.
When she went to check it out, she was struck over the head, knocked unconscious and laid there until she was found by a passerby.
Her purse had been rummaged through and her money taken, including two Canadian $2 bills.
She was also rushed by ambulance to NRGH and is still in hospital.
“She was unconscious for about 40 minutes,” Armstrong said.
A police dog was unable to get a track of the suspects because of the time delay before it was possible to notify police and the large amount of foot traffic in the area.
A similar robbery happened in downtown Nanaimo Oct. 25 at about 4 a.m. when a man, 33, and a woman, 19, were both struck in the head and the woman’s purse stolen while they were walking together on Commercial Street near Skinner Street.
The couple did not report the crime until the following day and Armstrong said police so far have no suspects in that case.
Armstrong said it is crucial that victims report crimes as soon as possible after they occur.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.