Posted on 08/26/2025 9:18:07 AM PDT by lowbridge
Wild video shows a US tourist yanking a suspected pickpocket by the ponytail after the teenager allegedly stole her purse and passport while on vacation in Venice.
Footage of the dramatic incident, which took place last Thursday, shows the furious woman gripping the teen girl by the hair in front of a crowd of onlookers in the world-famous Italian city.
The mom of eight was able to track down her stolen purse by using the “Find My Friends” feature on her AirPods, which were inside it, according to her daughter, Karis McElroy, who shared the original video of the confrontation on TikTok.
Karis’ mom was on vacation in Venice with her stepdad when they were crowded by a group of girls on a narrow bridge, and soon realized that her backpack had been unzipped and her purse containing her credit cards, cash and passport was missing, along with a metal water bottle.
“Her and my stepdad immediately started tracking her purse through her AirPods on Find My Friends, and they were able to track it down back to those three girls,” Karis said in a subsequent video.
“So she goes and chases them down, and she grabs one of the girls by her ponytail and does not let go. Two of the girls stay, one of the girls runs away with my mom’s purse,” she went on.
“She said she didn’t care about any of the other stuff in the bag, but she just at least wanted her passport so she could get home,” she said.
The Airbnb host told Karis’ mom that the trio were a well-known group of pickpockets in Venice and stood with her while they waited for the cops to apprehend the teenagers.
All the while, the girl being held by the ponytail was screaming
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Gypsies.
My first thought.....................
But we can’t call them that anymore. Racists........
So calling a woman “a beast” is a compliment now?
That said it’s pretty dumb to be walking around with your passport. Having a photo on your cellphone or paper copies should suffice in most cases.
*** “I have eight kids, you’re not getting to me,” she told the suspected thief.***
Way to go, Mom!
Really? You don’t need your passport when you travel to other countries? Authorities in other countries accept a paper copy? They accept a cellphone photo?
I’m surprised they wouldn’t need to see your actual passport.
I mean when you are walking around the city, usually you should store the passports in a hotel safe.
> Gypsies <
It looks that way. In gypsy folklore, thousands of years ago the rest of the world was unfair to the gypsy people. This gives the gypsies the right to steal from the rest of the world.
So there will be no shame here. Except that they got caught.
Yup. And released two days later.
I am glad she got her passport back. But, first rule is not to carry a backpack with your valuables. Money belt, bra belt, underclothing wallet that can hold passports, anything but a backpack with valuables.
No money or credit cards in pockets either.
But you will need it if stopped for id or you'll likely be held until someone can fetch it.
When I was living in Cologne many years ago the cops did a dragnet in a subway station known for criminal activity (no 4th Amendment). An American happened to be there whose passport had been stolen a few days earlier. He didn't have a copy & decided to argue with the police.
He was released from the hospital about a week later.
You’re supposed to call them the Roma or the Romani now. And that very much upsets an Italian friend of mine.
He’s says that will lead to confusion, and make people think these thieves come from Rome.
So he will continue to call them gypsies. I will, too.
They were lucky they weren’t arrested for assault.
Yup!.
Good advice. I’m sure those pickpockets target tourists.
And I’ve heard these criminals are a major problem in Europe.
It also upsets Romanians, who are not gypsies.
IIRC, in the UK and Ireland they call them ‘Travelers’..........
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