Woman thwarts purse-snatching, takes would-be thief to coffee

A woman chased down a purse-snatcher in Edmonton, Canada, last week, only to take the would-be thief out to coffee after catching up to him, CBC reports.

Tess Aboughoushe cornered the man in an alley after she heard a woman calling "stop, thief, he took my wallet!" Aboughoushe was surprised to find the thief crying when she caught him: "He came out from behind the dumpster and says, in a conciliatory way, 'Here is the wallet, I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry, just take it, take it,'" she said.

After returning the wallet, Aboughoushe took the desperate thief out for coffee and pointed him in the direction of the local library, where he could get help from social workers on staff. "He said, 'I've never done anything like this before. I just really need the money' … I wanted to show him some compassion," she said.

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