MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are looking for the person accused of attacking a 72-year-old man in the Cooper-Young neighborhood and robbing him. 

In a small parking lot at the corner of Young and Blythe a 72-year-old man told police he was dumping trash into the dumpster around 7 a.m. Sunday when a man approached him asking for money. He said he responded, “I’ll pay you if you help me unload this trash.”

He said the man walked away but returned as he was getting in his truck and demanded his wallet. When the 72-year-old refused, he remembers being hit in the head with a gun before going unconscious. 

He later woke up to someone asking if he was okay and discovered his wallet had been stolen. 

The parking lot is equipped with multiple cameras but as of now, it’s believed they did not catch the incident. 

We talked to a man who lives nearby about the crime. He asked not to be identified.

“There’s enough people that are a little misguided and are looking for a quick buck or something,” he said. “It’s a great area. Everyone is always so nice, you know it’s so popular with all the restaurants.”

The attack comes two days after Memphis Police released photos of a man named as a person of interest for armed robberies that happened off Cooper and Walker and off Young Avenue a little more than a week ago. Both robberies happened within blocks of this latest ambush.

We did a crime track through the city’s data hub and found that since the beginning of the year, there have been nine robberies within a quarter-mile radius of Sunday’s crime.

In both cases, the accused armed assailant pointed a gun at the victims and got away with their wallets. We asked police if they believe this latest incident is connected to the other robberies. They told us they’re looking into it. We’ll let you know as we hear more.

In the meantime, if you have information you believe could help investigators, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.