For the second time in as many weeks, a purse snatching has turned into a shooting in the city.
An unidentified man and his girlfriend came out of a home near 26th Street and Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia just before midnight when a man ran up and grabbed the 23-year-old woman’s purse.
The suspect took about $300 out of the purse before tossing it away as he ran down the street.
“Immediately when they came down the steps a male -- thin built with a tattoo on his face -- snatched the girlfriend’s purse and the doer began running east on Lehigh,” said Philadelphia Police Capt. George Fuchs. “He started going through the purse and he actually took the money and dropped the purse.
The woman’s 24-year-old boyfriend gave chase and that’s when the suspect turned around a fired a revolver -- striking the man once in the chest.
Officers scooped up the victim and rushed him to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.
“I think they were both surprised that this guy came out of nowhere and started running,” said Fuchs.
Police recovered the purse minus $300.
Later in the morning, police announced that two people in the case were taken into custody and expected to be charged.
Last week, a young architect walking down the street with her mother was shot and killed during a purse snatching in Northern Liberties. Two suspects in that case remain on the loose.
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