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'Holiday Crook' Dumps Woman Out of Wheelchair on Phoenix Light Rail

Passengers on a light rail in Phoenix, Arizona, rushed into action after a man attacked a woman and tried to steal her wheelchair from under her on November 29.

Footage of the incident, which happened at a stop at 12th Street and Jefferson Street, shows a man wearing what police described as “reindeer slippers” rise from his seat and immediately start attacking the woman, trying to remove her from the wheelchair. The woman grabs at handrails to hold on, but he pulls one her hands off a handrail, throws her out of the chair, and pushes it off the tram.

At that moment, several passengers chase after the man, with one slamming him against a barrier on the light rail station platform. The man drops the wheelchair and flees on foot.

Police released the footage on December 7, branding the suspect a “holiday crook” and writing: “Despite his reindeer slippers, this criminal was NOT spreading holiday cheer. He tried to steal a wheelchair right out from under a woman, but hero passengers on the light rail came to her rescue.”

The suspect was described as a white man, in his mid-20s, weighing 200 to 215 pounds with dark blonde hair and a goatee. Credit: City of Phoenix Police via Storyful