Man springs into action to detain suspected purse snatcher

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a scene straight from a movie.

A Houston man is a real-life hero to a damsel in distress when he tackled the man who was in the act of taking her purse.

"I was on my way over towards Discovery Green and I heard a woman screaming and I looked over and a man was running away with a purse that didn't look like belonged to him," said Good Samaritan Kyle Falke.

That woman Falke heard was Melissa Vest, who was going back to her downtown building from lunch.

Vest says a man in orange, "came up from behind and just grabbed."

At that sight, Falke saw his chance, ran across the street and tackled the purse snatcher. Falke then held him in a headlock until help arrived.

"It didn't seem like very long at all. Maybe 15 or 20 seconds. There was a police officer pretty close by and building security that came out and assisted as well," Falke said.

Vest watched the scene unfold and now, she has everything in her purse back safe and sound, thanks to Falke.

"When we started yelling that he had snatched my purse, lots of people at least took a few steps and tried a few things," Vest said. "Kyle was the one who caught him. And so, it was nice to see good people in the world who still want to help out."

If he could, Falke said he'd do it all again, because it was the right thing to do.