BOSTON -- Police are looking for a man they say attacked a woman in her car in a supermarket parking lot.

Woman Attacked In Supermarket Parking Lot

The attack happened at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday in the Market Basket parking lot in Somerville.

Police said a 45-year-old woman had just pulled in to the shopping plaza when a man holding a knife demanded she take him to the hospital.

"He was able to get in before she could lock the door. He grabbed her purse inside the car and said, 'You are taking me for a ride,'" Somerville police Deputy Chief Paul Upton said.

Upton said a struggle ensued and the woman fell out of the car.

"The suspect got out of the car and came around and began punching and kicking the woman while she was on the ground. He then left on foot with her purse," Upton said.

The man hit the woman in her head, stomach and back, police said.

"I did see the sketch of him, so I will look out," shopper Carl Hartford said.

"I think I would be more aware of what is around me. I think that is all you can do, really," shopper Peggy Loeb said.

Police said the man is described as white, approximately 25 to 30 years old, about 6 feet 1 inch tall with a thin build and a flat-top hair cut. He was wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.

There are surveillance cameras inside the store, but there are no cameras in the parking lot.