September 25, 2009


Detroit woman kills alleged purse snatcher

By TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER A 43-year-old woman shot and killed a suspected purse snatcher who confronted her at a northwest Detroit gas station this morning, according to police.
Two men approached the Detroit woman at about 5:30 a.m. at the Schoolcraft and Southfield Mobil station, Detroit Police spokesman John Roach said. The woman is licensed to legally carry a gun for self-defense, he said.

"They didn't realize she has a CCW [[license), so she had a weapon of her own," Roach said. "She fired several rounds at the suspects and they fled."

The pair made off with the woman's purse. But about a half-hour later, a man with several gunshot wounds went to Sinai-Grace Hospital for treatment and died later this morning.

"At this point, we believe this is one of the individuals in the robbery," Roach said about the man who was shot. Investigators recovered the woman's purse and believe the person who accompanied the wounded man to the hospital may be his accomplice, Roach said.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is asked to call the Detroit Police Homicide Unit at 313-596-2260.