Former Democrat California Senator Barbara Boxer was assaulted and robbed in Oakland on Monday afternoon.

According to a statement on her Twitter account, Boxer was walking in Jack London Square when she was pushed from behind and robbed of her cell phone. The attacker then jumped into a waiting car.

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Boxer was not seriously injured.

There is a reward of up to $2,000 for any information that might lead to an arrest in the case.

Updates In The Case

According to Boxer, both of the assailants appeared to be younger than 18 years old. Boxer herself is 80 years old.

Police have also not released any descriptions of the suspects.

A Verizon employee in the building where Boxer went for help said, “I just knew that she was shaking, very scared, traumatized. Just in distress, emotional distress. So I just was here to help her, get her water, whatever she needed.”

Boxer said she yelled at the assailants as they were running away. “I said, ‘Why would you do this to a grandma?’ I was yelling at the kid as he was running with my phone. I said ‘I want to call my grandkids, why are you doing this?’ He could care less. He got in the car. But I hope he has some guilt.”

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Oakland On Board With Defunding The Police

The Oakland City Council last month voted to cut the police department budget by roughly $18 million in order to fund programs like social services and violence prevention. Oakland has recently seen rising crime rates and murders.

As of July 1, Oakland has seen 66 homicides. Number 66 was one of five shootings that occurred within eight hours.

During a recent news conference, Oakland Police Chief LaRonne Armstrong seemed to voice his frustration. “We find ourselves in a crisis. We see clearly that crime is out of control in the city of Oakland and our response was for less police resources.”

Still Working For ‘Change’

Barbara Boxer first served in the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 6th congressional district from 1983 to 1993, and as a Senator from 1993 until her retirement in 2017.

She says she is still working “behind the scenes” advocating for young people. “There’s not one silver bullet, okay? It’s a host of things we have to do, to give our kids hope in the future, to give them opportunity, the education, the jobs, all of those things, the after-school (programs). But also when they step out of line, go after them.”

When Boxer announced her retirement in 2015 from the Senate, she said that she would continue to, “work on the issues that I love.” through her political action committee, PAC for a Change.“I am never going to retire. The work is too important.”

This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.

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