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VIDEO: Mugger Jumps Onto Subway Tracks After Stealing Purse, Police Say

By Maya Rajamani | July 14, 2017 11:26am | Updated on July 17, 2017 9:26am
 A thief who snatched a woman’s purse jumped off a subway platform and ran down the train tracks to evade passersby trying to stop him from getting away, the NYPD said.
A thief who snatched a woman’s purse jumped off a subway platform and ran down the train tracks to evade passersby trying to stop him from getting away, the NYPD said.
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NYPD

MIDTOWN — A thief snatched a woman’s purse in Grand Central then jumped off the subway platform and ran down the train tracks to evade passersby trying to stop him from getting away, the NYPD said.

The 44-year-old victim was inside the Grand Central-42nd Street subway station around 5:16 p.m. on June 24 when the suspect pulled her purse off her arm and ran down the platform with it, police said.

A group of good Samaritans chased after the man to get the purse back, but he escaped by jumping off the platform onto the southbound train tracks and running through the tunnel, police said.

Surveillance video shows the men who pursued the thief stopping at the end of the platform and watching as he disappears from sight.

The purse contained the woman's cellphone, a credit card and $25 in cash, the NYPD said.

The man was wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt with stripes, dark jeans and a large black backpack at the time of the theft, the NYPD said.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.