A man allegedly grabbed a 68-year-old woman in the parking lot of Dave’s Marketplace, held a screwdriver to her side and threatened to kill her if she didn’t give him her purse on Sunday afternoon, according to East Greenwich Police.

“The woman was putting groceries in her car when she was apparently approached by a male subject from behind who put a sharp object to her side and said, ‘Give me your purse or I’m going to kill you,’” according to East Greenwich Police Chief Thomas Coyle. “She obviously complied and gave him her purse.”

Coyle added, “The suspect told [the woman] to get in her car. That’s when she fled into the parking lot, screaming for help. She was very shaken.”

Police are not releasing the woman’s name at this point because she will have to identify the suspect in a police lineup.

Witnesses saw the suspect leave the shopping plaza in what is believed to be a maroon 1993 Plymouth station wagon with Rhode Island registration 980-112, according to police.

Police have identified Michael J. Brooks, 48, of Narragansett, as a suspect in the crime, according to a press release from East Greenwich Police.

“I would consider him dangerous,” said East Greenwich Investigative Division Commander Thomas Marcello. “We want to see him picked up before someone else is victimized.”

Local police are working with detectives from North Kingstown and Narragansett in trying to locate Brooks because it is believed that he committed similar crimes in grocery store parking lots earlier in the day in those two communities as well.

North Kingstown Police are investigating a similar incident that occurred in the Stop and Shop Plaza parking lot on Frenchtown Road about an hour prior to the incident in East Greenwich, which occurred just after 4:00 p.m. Sunday, according to East Greenwich Police.

“It appears he came directly from North Kingstown to here,” Marcello said.

Earlier in the day, a similar crime was reported at the Stop and Shop parking lot in Narragansett. In that incident, an 88-year-old woman’s purse was taken, Marcello said.

North Kingstown and Narragansett police could not be reached for comment on Monday.

“Information gathered from witnesses and involved officers from each agency resulted in the positive identification of a single suspect and vehicle,” reads the press release from East Greenwich Police. “The suspect … has a lengthy criminal record from the State of NY and is reported to be a drug user.”

Brooks, the suspect, is said to be 5”8”, with brown graying hair, blue eyes, a thin build with an unshaven face, according to the press release.

Marcello said the suspect could be charged with first degree felony robbery, felony assault with the intent to commit a felony and assault on a person over the age of 60.

UPDATE: Brooks was arrested this morning by East Greenwich Police in the Cumberland Farms parking lot on South County Trail. Click HERE to read that story.