NATCHEZ — An unrelated rash of robberies on Sunday likely left at least three residents and a business shortchanged for cash and peace of mind.

Natchez Police are investigating two strong-arm robberies Sunday on Monroe and East Franklin streets.

A victim told police he was walking on Desoto Street near East Franklin Street shortly after midnight Sunday when “out of nowhere,” a suspect started hitting him in the face, knocking him to the ground and kicking him.

The victim was transported to Natchez Community Hospital for a broken cheekbone and broken ribs before being transferred to University Medical Center in Jackson.

The victim said $29 had been stolen from his wallet.

Just before 1 p.m. Sunday, a woman reported an attempted robbery, which she said occurred while she was driving on Monroe Street near Pearl Street.

The victim told police two men flagged her down on the street and asked for cigarettes.

“(The victim) told him she didn’t smoke, and she said (the suspect) then said, ‘Give me your money.’”

The suspect reportedly then reached in his jumpsuit and pulled out what the woman believed to be a gun.

A police report says the complainant, 31, who had two young children in the car, then drove away and called police.

A 67-year-old woman reported that her purse was stolen out of her hands at the Mark Apartments on Lowerville Road.

The victim told NPD the suspect grabbed the purse, which contained her checkbook, Social Security card, medicine, AARP card and $25 in cash, shortly after she exited her car at the apartment building.

The victim said she yelled for help, and the suspect ran away between apartments, the report says.

NPD Interim Police Chief Danny White said all of the incidents reported Sunday are under investigation.

Additionally, Natchez police arrested a man Sunday night who allegedly robbed the Passport Inn and Suites hotel just two hours earlier that evening.

A police report says Parnell McBride, 25, 106 Spring St., Fayette, reportedly entered the hotel lobby and forced an employee behind the counter, demanding money from the register.

Shortly after the incident, a Natchez police officer spotted a man in a parking lot, who matched the description of the suspect seen in surveillance tapes.

Upon questioning, officers saw a hoodie matching the description of the suspect in his car and placed him under arrest. Police later found $365 in cash sitting in a ditch in the area where they questioned McBride.