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You Go Girl: Woman Chases Down & Tackles Thief To Reclaim Her Stolen Purse

A woman steals a backpack from another woman sitting at a table.

When this thief attempted to steal a purse from an unsuspecting coffee shop patron, she had no idea the woman would be willing to chase her down! Uncle Bean’s Coffee in Texas caught some jaw-dropping surveillance footage of the tense moment. ABC13 Houston shared the video on social media, where it’s already received over three million views. We’re impressed by this woman’s courage!

In the clip, a customer was enjoying her beverage on an outdoor patio when another person snuck up behind her and snatched her backpack from the chair next to her. However, as the thief ran off with the ill-gotten purse, the woman got up from her seat and chased her down! She only got halfway across the street before the bag’s owner tackled her to the ground and retrieved her item.

Don’t mess with this woman’s bag!

@abc13houston

Tonight at 10p.m. Caffeine came in handy for one Houston woman as she reclaimed her snatched backpack from two thieves Thursday morning. Tune into the 10p.m. newscast for her story on how she had to get it back, no matter what. #happyending #theft #fypシ゚viral

♬ original sound – ABC13 Houston

During the tussle, the thief managed to escape from the woman who had chased her down. However, she didn’t get away with the purse! After this ordeal, the customer picked herself up, dusted herself off, and carried her bag back to her seat.

“She wasn’t gentle,” the woman told ABC13 Houston. “Maybe if she would have been gentle taking the backpack, I would haven’t noticed, but she was pretty abrupt. It startled me, and that’s when I reached out and started running.”

Apparently, there were some pretty important items in her backpack, including her American and Cuban passports. No wonder she wasn’t willing to let go without a fight!

A woman steals a backpack from another woman sitting at a table.
Screengrab from TikTok

In the footage, it looks like the purse thief had an accomplice who started running even before the woman began to chase them. According to the news outlet, neither of these people have been identified so far. Claudia, the victim of the attempted theft, had a few words for these two at the end of the social media video.

“What message do I have for them?” she said. “Don’t try to steal from a Cuban.”

Claudia is now prepared in case something like this ever happens again. She showed ABC13 Houston her new bag hook, which should help her secure her belongings in the future.

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.

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