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Police: Gun pointed at people who tried to stop robber

SALISBURY, N.C. — Police are looking for a man who stole a woman’s purse at a grocery store.

Salisbury police said a 61-year-old woman was shopping at the Food Lion on Faith Road when a man approached her, grabbed her purse from her cart and ran out of the store.

Several customers chased the suspect and held him down after catching him in the parking lot, police said. A woman in a small, bluish-green car, possibly a Chevrolet Cobalt, pulled up beside the suspect, according to investigators. The woman pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the customers after the man yelled for her to do so, police said.

Officers said the customers then let go of the suspect and moved away.

The man got into the car, and he and the driver left the scene, according to police. The license tag was obscured by a piece of cardboard, investigators said.

The male suspect was described as a black man who is between 20 and 25 years old and is approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, police said.

The female suspect is described as a black woman who is between 20 and 25 years old and is heavy-set, officers said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Salisbury Police Department at 704-638-5333 or Crime Stoppers at 866-639-5245.