A brave Brazilian mother recovered her 15-year-old daughter’s stolen phone by charging at the mugger with her umbrella as he tried to escape on his bike.
CCTV cameras mounted on businesses in São Paulo caught them in action as the assailant forcibly grabbed the schoolgirl’s cell phone and pedalled away at speed.
As the bandit made his getaway, images show the mother, 50, chasing after him and throwing her rolled up umbrella at the fleeing figure.
She appears to launch her umbrella with all her might, pulling her right arm all the way back over her shoulder before letting go.
It flies past the crook, thwarting his escape and causing him to skid on the wet surface and lose control. He is sent sprawling to the ground in the middle of the busy street.
One of the mugger’s legs gets trapped in the fallen bike and the two women batter him with their hands and bags the moment they catch up with him. Within seconds the pair are joined by locals who witnessed the attack and run to help restrain the assailant.
‘I was so angry to see her face so scared that I didn’t think about the consequences. She tried to grab her phone back but it all happened so fast. I turned and ran after the guy and threw my umbrella to see if I could stop him getting away.
‘I was spitting mad. I kept shouting at him while hitting him, “don’t you dare steal from my daughter”. Then other people joined in and beat him up too.’
The fearless mum stopped passing traffic to grab her umbrella, which was broken in the incident, while her daughter was able to recover her phone.
The robber allegedly dropped the stolen device when he lost control of his bike.
The thug was restrained by residents who laid into him with their fists, some kicked him while others dragged him by his hoodie. The livid mum continued to batter him with her blue umbrella.
But the suspect fought back and soon broke free, fleeing empty-handed leaving behind his bike, flip flops and sweatshirt.
The housewife explained that she had taken her daughter out clothes shopping and they had just finished booking a taxi using an app to take them home. Her daughter was holding her phone to check the driver’s details when the mugger struck.
Reflecting on the assault, the victim pointed out that the correct thing to do is ‘not to react’ in these situations.
She revealed that three years ago she was mugged and forced to hand over her mobile phone.
‘When you’re angry your impulses can get the better of you and you react without thinking. Looking back now, it could all have turned out differently if he had been armed,’ she said.
Both are recovering well after the incident and have vowed to be more vigilant next time.
The attempted robbery was reported to police and officers are working to identify the assailant.
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