Horn Lake Warns Women of Purse Snatchers

(Horn Lake, MS)  Officers say a group of thieves are targeting women at the gas pumps
and getting away with their purses.

The suspected crooks have hit just two Horn Lake gas stations four times in the last month.

Apparently, their hunting ground is so fertile, the’re staying with the same locations.

Horn Lake Police believe the man they’ve seen in surveillance video is among a group stealing purses out of the cars of women stopping for gas at one of two Horn Lake gas stations.

It’s happening at the corner of Horn Lake road and Goodman, at the Kwik Stop and the Hop In stations.
 
Women stop for gas, and find their purses gone when they drive away.

”He pulls up like he’s gonna get gas, looks around, and when he sees the victim not paying attention, he’ll open their passenger side door, steal the purse and then just get in his vehicle and drive off,” said Lt. Scott Evans of the Horn Lake Police Department.

It’s happened four times in just the last month.

The suspected crooks often use different vehicles, stolen tags, and even different people to pull off these thefts from people who don’t seem to be paying enough attention to what’s going on around them.

Officers say potential victims can stay safe by just following a few simple rules, ”The key here is, don’t make yourself a victim”.

They say, keeping an eye on your surroundings, keeping your doors locked, keeping any items out of sight, and staying close to your car can prevent you from becoming the next victim, ”Keep it locked and you know, keep that purse out of sight, it doesn’t take but one second to look over and see it sitting there in the passenger seat.”

If you think you’ve seen anything that can help police, or if you know who these people are, call the Horn Lake Police Department at 662-393-6174.