Audacious handbag snatch as woman sits in car

Gardai in Athlone are investigating an audacious handbag snatch in broad daylight as a woman sat in her vehicle in a carpark.

The victim, a woman in her 60s, was sitting in her car in Dunnes Stores carpark around 3.30pm on New Year’s Day when the incident occurred.
A male with a black hood opened the passenger door and swiped the woman’s handbag before running off in the direction of Burgess Park.

Sgt Michelle Baker from Athlone Garda Station described the incident as a “very unusual” and not something she has ever come across in the town before. She appealed to anyone who can assist the garda investigation into this opportunistic handbag snatch to come forward.

She again renewed her appeal to the public not to leave any valuable property exposed in cars, or to leave parked vehicles unlocked in driveways after two smash and grab car break-ins over the first days of 2015. Cars in Retreat and Battery Heights were targeted and purses and personal property were stolen from the vehicles.