Grocery store bagger hailed a hero for stopping attempted purse snatching
A grocery store bagger is being praised online as a hero after he stopped a man attempting to steal a customer's purse.
On Thursday, Juwone Scott Jr., a 26-year-old employee at Brookshire's Food & Pharmacy in Shreveport, La., had just finished bagging a customer's groceries when a man snatched her purse and ran off.
Scott instantly started to chase the culprit.
"I had to chase him down because I told myself that doesn't feel right," Juwone told KTBS.
While he was able to retrieve customer Crystal Cray's purse, Juwone did suffer minor injuries when he was punched and kicked in the face, KTBS reports.
According to his mother, Satara Scott, her son, who has autism, is a Special Olympics athlete and can lift 700 pounds. The proud mom credits the skills Juwone has learned as a weightlifter for him being able to confront the alleged purse snatcher. But it didn't make the situation any less scary.
"At first, it was real scary because you never know, he might have a gun or knife, and you just don't know when something like that happens," Satara told the news outlet. "I was just more concerned about how he was doing. I know he doesn't like doctors, so I know he wouldn't have wanted to go to the ER, but that's what we had him to do to make sure he was ok."
"Juwone is a real hero!" Cray wrote on her Facebook page. "I’m so very blessed by this awesome guy and so is the community!"
Others were quick to praise Juwone’s dedication to his job as well.
"He is such a great employee!!!” one person commented. “I'm glad he's ok. Such a warm and kind hearted young man!! So respectful!"
Another added, "WE LOVE HIM! Such a sweet person."
Shreveport Police Department Tactical Robbery Unit even presented Juwone with a new pair of running shoes for his good deed.
Despite all of the attention, Juwone is just happy he was there to help Cray, and he plans to continue to look out for his customers who, he says, treat him like family.
Juwone’s mother even asked if he wanted to take the next day off after the incident, but he went right back to work.
Shreveport Police Department released photos of the suspect from the store's surveillance video. Thanks to information from Crime Stoppers, detectives were able to identify and arrest 42-year-old Jared Lee Freeman, according to a statement from the Shreveport Police Department. Freeman was booked on one count of purse snatching and one count of simple battery.
Juwone Scott Jr. and Crystal Cray did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
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