78-year-old woman takes radical action after creep snatches her purse: 'I'm a bit of a fighter

After a 78-year-old woman finished getting her groceries at a ShopRite supermarket in West Philadelphia last month, she pushed her cart into the parking lot and was unloading her bags when the driver of another car pulled up.

The man was caught on surveillance video hopping out of his car, snatching the woman's purse and getting back behind the wheel.

But the victim — who KYW-TV referred to only as Mrs. Jeanette — wasn't about to just let the crook get away with what he likely assumed were easy pickings.

In a report that aired Wednesday, Mrs. Jeanette told KYW, “Even though I’m a senior, I’m a bit of a fighter."

That's a bit of an understatement.

Because Mrs. Jeanette reacted by running toward the thief's car — and jumping on the hood.

Image source: KYW-TV video screenshot

“I sort of lunged at him,” she told the station. “I jumped on. I know it was ridiculous or a bad move in hindsight, but I was just protecting whatever is mine, which is normal for anybody to do.”

The suspect responded by putting his car in reverse, which resulted in Mrs. Jeanette falling off the hood. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously injured, KYW reported, but the crook got away.

What was in her purse?

Mrs. Jeanette not only lost her purse but also $100 in cash, her checkbook, credit cards and her favorite brush that were inside it, the station said.

But perhaps the most painful loss was a surprise for some children at her church, KYW said.

“I had 10 tickets to the Please Touch Museum," Mrs. Jeanette told the station, "and each ticket admitted four, and that was one of our planned excursions."

Image source: KYW-TV video screenshot

What did she have to say about the experience?

“It just makes you apprehensive, and it changes your environment,” she revealed to KYW, calling the purse snatching "invasive" and "very unnerving."

"It rocks your foundation, your safety,” Mrs. Jeanette told the station. “You feel vulnerable.”

What did she have to say about her assailant?

“He did have the humanity to [put the car in] reverse, and if anything, I thank him for that,” she told KYW before adding that even though her assailant got away, he's headed in the wrong direction.

Here's a look at the man that police want to find:

Image source: KYW-TV video screenshot

Image source: KYW-TV video screenshot

"The road he’s traveling is a dead end,” Mrs. Jeanette concluded to the station.