Video shows backpack snatch victim chases down and tackles thieves

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A purse snatching was caught on camera Thursday in the Woodland Heights area, but the owner of the backpack was not going to let it go.

Surveillance footage shows a woman working on her computer outside Uncle Bean's Coffee in the 3000 block of Houston Avenue when two women walked by. One of those two women then grabbed the backpack that belonged to the customer.

The video shows the victim ran after the suspects and tackled one of them in the middle of the street.

"She wasn't gentle. 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," Claudia said.

Claudia had been going to the coffee shop almost every day for the last month and a half and said the area had always been so clam.

"Nothing ever happened. That's why I was so startled," she said.

After the incident, Claudia went out and bought a hook to hang her bag from now on.

"Next time, if they try to grab the backpack, they'll drag the table with them," she said.

Inside the bag was the victim's American and Cuban passports.

As for the suspects, they did get away. If you recognize the suspects in the video, you are urged to contact the Houston Police Department.

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