Shocking moment man hits 77-year-old woman over the head with a metal pipe and steals her pizza

Shocking new video footage shows the moment a man armed with a metal pipe strikes a woman over the head and steals her pizza as she exits a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona.

The Tucson Police Department released surveillance video this week of the April 21 incident on Twitter to request the public's help in locating the suspect.

'Tucson we need to catch this guy!' tweeted the cops along with the 20-second footage. 

The video starts with the woman about to leave the restaurant, which police say is located at South 12th Avenue and West Ajo Way on the city's south side, around 3.45pm.

Cops don't name the pizza shop. However, Tucson.com identified the restaurant as Peter Piper Pizza.

The man appears to be opening the door for the woman as she is exiting when he suddenly attacks her and gets away with her pizza pie. 

The woman was doing 'ok,' a spokeswoman for the pizza shop says. 

The pizza chain's ten locations have since beefed up security and added personnel in response to the attack. 

The suspect, a regular at the restaurant, was described as a dark-skinned male, possibly Hispanic, with a wrinkly face standing around 5 feet 6 inches or shorter, wrote Officer Ray Smith in a tweet. 

Anyone in Tucson with information is asked to call 911, or 88-CRIME, to file report anonymously.