Men Help Nab Teen Who Shoved & Robbed Elderly Woman In Lynn
LYNN (CBS) -- A 15-year-old from Lynn is charged with knocking down an 89-year-old woman and attempting to steal her purse.
Police said Tuesday morning they were called to the CVS on Eastern Avenue where Helen Surawski told officers a teenager who had been following her grabbed her purse and ran off outside a CVS on Eastern Avenue.
WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod reports.
Surawski said the teenager shoved her onto the pavement and she hit her head. An ambulance was called to the scene and she was treated for a minor injury.
"He didn't hit me or anything. He just shoved me," said Surawski. "It happened so fast, that I was on the ground and he was gone!"
Jim Donovan and John Levie saw what happened from their passing truck.
"Complete instinct. You literally just saw the purse, you saw somebody running and you're like, 'Oh you gotta stop him,'" said Levie.
"That was somebody's grandmother or something. You couldn't see doing that to an 89-year-old lady," said Donovan.
Donovan and Levie chased down the suspect and dragged him back to the scene of the crime. They held him until police arrived.
"The man that was holding him told him. He said, 'You ought to apologize to that woman,' and he turned around and he did," said Surawski.
"I'm just glad the guy didn't have a gun or knife," said and Levie.
Fortunately Surawski was well enough to deliver each of the Good Samaritans a hug.
"She came over and gave each of us a big hug and said 'thank you' and that felt great," said Donavan.
"I'm glad they were there to help me, that was very, very nice of them," said Surawski.
The teen, whose name has not been released, is charged with unarmed robbery of a person over 65 and assault and battery on a person over 60. He is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Lynn District Juvenile Court.
