Several bystanders chased down and detained one of two men suspected of robbing a woman of her purse as she walked down a street in Tacoma’s North End on Tuesday, police reported.

The robbery occurred about 4 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Pearl Street, police said.

The woman was walking when a car pulled over, a man got out of the passenger seat and tried to take the woman’s purse, police reported.

She fought back, and the man knocked her to the ground and continued to pull at her purse, at one point dragging her down the street, police reported. Eventually, the purse straps broke.

The man grabbed the purse and got back into the vehicle, which drove away, police reported. The woman suffered slight injuries.

Several people witnessed the incident and followed the suspects’ car. The witnesses were able to block the vehicle near North 14th and Woodlawn streets, police reported.

The two men got out and started running. The citizens tackled the suspected purse snatcher and held him on the ground until officers arrived to make the arrest. He was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery.

The other man, who was driving the vehicle, got away.

Stacey Mulick, The News Tribune