Elderly Oakland laundromat worker is left terrified after two women were RELEASED by cops after punching and shoving her to the ground in horrific attack that was ruled a 'misdemeanor'

A 65-year-old laundromat employee in Oakland says she afraid to return to her job after being assaulted by two customers in an incident that was caught on camera.

Surveillance footage shows two relatively young women physically harassing, intimidating, and eventually attacking the elderly woman for the better part of ten minutes.

Ruth 'Ruthie' Wilde said the attack was the longest eight-minute stretch of her life.

She told CBS Bay Area that she was 'very afraid' during the attack and still is, especially now that the pair have been released and may end up having the misdemeanor charges (filed against only one of them) dropped.

The terrifying encounter occurred on March 16, shortly after 7pm, while there were still customers inside the local business.

Wilde said she informed her two attackers that the last wash cycle of the day began at 6.30pm, the laundromat - Woody's Laundromat - closes at 8pm.

She gestured to a sign on the business's wall clearly displaying the hours of the business.

Footage showed the two women then left the business with their clothing and drove away in a car.

The pair, however, returned some 40 minutes later at just around 7.40pm.

They told Wilde their clothing had gone missing from a washer and asked to see the surveillance videos to see who left with their items.

Wilde repeatedly said she didn't have their clothing and had no access to the business's surveillance cameras.

Surveillance footage then showed a woman in a black hat grabbing Wilde by the neck, dragging her around and shoving her to the ground multiple times.

Wilde also took at least three punches during the assault.

The other woman, in a red hat and a yellow shirt, was then shown pushing Wilde to the ground.

'They punched me again and hard enough that my nose was bleeding. I saw stars and lights because they hit me so hard,' Wilde told CBS.

The footage showed the two assailants threatening to hurt several of the customers who intervened in the assault.

Ruthie Wilde, 65, was assaulted at the Oakland laundromat where she's worked for 27 years

Robert Ma (left), said the attack that took place against his employee should be considered elder abuse

Woody's Laundromat and Cafe in Oakland, California was terrorized last weekend by two assailants who victimized an elderly woman

Wilde said she was 'afraid that they were going to kill me or bash my head into the dryer.'

After the attack, Wilde called 911 and officers responded.

Both women were apprehended and released, though Oakland officers told CBS they cited the woman in the black hat.

They refused to release the suspect's name. The woman who was cited will have to appear before a judge at a later date. 

Wilde worries, though, that the assailant will get off with simply paying a fine, or potentially having her case dismissed.

Wilde said she is livid 'at the system.'

'It's a misdemeanor, and they can't do anything about it,' she said.

A full week after the attack, Wilde said her mouth is still in pain.

One of the owners of the laundromat, Robert Ma, disapprovingly said the type of assault experienced by his employee is 'considered a misdemeanor.'

He said the violent incident should be considered a case of elder abuse.

Both women were apprehended and released, though Oakland officers said they only cited the woman in the black hat (pictured)

There was a sign on the business's wall clearly displaying the hours of the business that Wilde showed her attackers

The elderly Wilde weighs just 88 pounds - she has worked at Woody's for nearly three decades.

'Everybody knows Ruthie. They love Ruthie. Nobody ever had any problem with her. She's super nice. Our regulars love her,' said Ma.

But she hasn't come back to work since the attack. 'I'm afraid they're going to come back and do me in.'