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'Took some punches': Supermarket worker hailed hero after stopping purse thief

A supermarket worker is being hailed as a hero after he stopped a man attempting to steal a customer’s purse.

Juwone Scott Jr, a 26-year-old grocery store bagger at Brookshire's Food & Pharmacy in Shreveport, Louisiana, had just finished bagging a customer's groceries when a man snatched her purse and ran off on Thursday.

Mr Scott instantly started to chase the culprit.

"I had to chase him down because I told myself that doesn't feel right," he told KTBS.

Louisiana grocery store bagger Juwone Scott Jr chased an attempted purse snatcher down and retrieved a customer's bag.
Juwone Scott Jr is being hailed a hero after he chased an attempted purse snatcher down and successfully retrieved the customer's bag back. Source: Facebook/Karen Malone

While he was able to retrieve customer Crystal Cray's purse, the 26-year-old did suffer minor injuries when he was punched and kicked in the face.

According to his mother, Satara Scott, her son, who has autism, was a Special Olympics athlete and can lift 700 pounds (about 318 kilograms).

The proud mom credits the skills Mr Scott 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 okay."

"Juwone is a real hero," Ms 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 Mr Scott’s dedication to his job as well.

"He is such a great employee,” one person said.

“I'm glad he's okay. Such a warm and kind hearted young man. So respectful."

Another added: "WE LOVE HIM! (sic) Such a sweet person."

Shreveport Police Department Tactical Robbery Unit even presented Mr Scott with a new pair of running shoes for his good deed.

Despite all of the attention, the grocery store bagger is just happy he was there to help Ms Cray.

He plans to continue to look out for his customers who, he says, treat him like family.

Ms Scott’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.

Mr Scott and Ms Cray did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

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