Attempted Purse Snatching Foiled In Montclair On Christmas Eve

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A snapped purse strap foiled a would-be purse snatcher who tried to rip off a Montclair woman on Christmas Eve, police say.

According to the Montclair Police Department, a 44-year-old local woman told officers that a man approached her, grabbed her purse strap and tried to yank it away as she was walking on Bloomfield Avenue near South Willow Street.

However, the purse strap snapped, causing the man to lose his grip. He then fled on foot southbound on South Willow Street, police said.

The woman wasn’t injured, Montclair police said.

The victim described her assailant as an African-American male in his late teens to early 20s, from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches, with a “very thin build” and wearing a grey-hooded sweatshirt.

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