A Pennsylvania woman told police she was attacked at an ATM in Pittsburgh by a robber who became angry when he saw a John McCain bumper sticker on her car, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Police Department said Thursday.
Public Information Officer Diane Richard said police cannot substantiate her story, however, and the investigation is ongoing.
Richard said the 20-year-old told investigators a man approached her Wednesday night at an ATM in the city’s East End, put a blade to her neck and demanded money.
She said she gave him $60 and stepped away from him, Richard said.
She further stated the man “punched her in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground, and he continued to punch and kick her while threatening to teach her a lesson for being a McCain supporter,” according to a police statement.
The woman also told police her attacker “called her a lot of names and stated that ‘You are going to be a Barack supporter,’ at which time she states he sat on her chest, pinning both her hands down with his knees, and scratched into her face a backward letter ‘B’ on the right side of her face using what she believed to be a very dull knife.”
The alleged assailant fled on foot, Richard said.
“We, the police, cannot substantiate this yet,” she said. “This is what she told police.”
The woman, who is from Texas, refused medical attention, Richard said, although she told the investigating officer she would see a doctor Thursday. There was no update on her condition, she said.
Richard said the woman described her alleged attacker as a dark-skinned African-American, 6 feet 4 inches tall with a medium build and short dark hair, wearing dark clothing and shiny shoes.
McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said that McCain and running mate Sarah Palin “spoke to the victim and her family after learning about the incident earlier this afternoon.”
Hazelbaker said the campaign would not offer more detail out of respect for the woman’s privacy.
The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama responded to the report with a statement saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.”
Mark my words…this woman may (MAY) have been held up at an ATM, but I am willing to bet you money that the backwards “B” was self-inflicted, and the whole part about “You are going to be a Barack supporter” is going to be bullshit. A woman who was possibly robbed, who is also a drama queen and wanted to blame Obama because (as she has claimed) her assailant was black.
First Joe the Plumber (who should be called “Joe The Plant”) decides to peddle a book deal to cash in on his McCain-bought fame…what makes you think this woman isn’t trying the same thing? You will see. I am right.
UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE:
Pittsburgh police said the 20-year-old woman who originally said she was robbed and assaulted at knifepoint in Bloomfield because of her political views made the story up.
Ashley Todd — who has a backward letter “B” scratched into her right cheek — confessed to faking the story and will be charged with filing a false report, Assistant Police Chief Maurita Bryant said at a news conference Friday.
