A thug robbed an off-duty cop in The Bronx early Wednesday, making off with her pistol but leaving her purse behind, authorities said.

Nilda Quezada, 41, was leaving her Wakefield apartment on her way to work at the 24th Precinct in Upper Manhattan when a 6-foot, 160-pound man approached her at about
5:35 a.m., according to law-enforcement sources.

After muttering something in a language Quezada couldn’t understand, the suspect — identified by cops as Samuel Thornton, 21 — snatched the cop’s gold necklace, the sources said.

A struggle ensued, the assailant punched her in the nose and she dropped her purse, which contained her 9mm service weapon. He rifled through the purse, snatched the gun and fled, the sources added.

“She fought him, and they were going back and forth,” said Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, who described the struggle as a “tug-of-war-type of situation” that turned violent.

“He then assaulted her two or three times — punched her in the face,” Boyce added.
The super of Quezada’s apartment building saw surveillance video of the robbery, calling it a sneak attack.

“She was caught off guard,” said Robert Rodriguez, 47. “He tried to take her purse, but she tried to pull back. He kept punching her because she didn’t let go of her purse.”

Other footage shows the culprit on the third floor of the building — the same floor as Quezada’s apartment — 30 minutes before the assault.

Quezada was treated at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital for minor injuries. Thornton was at large last night, police sources said.

Additional reporting by Natasha Velez