Global Courant
A video that has gone viral on social media shows an alleged suspect of a wallet stolen Wednesday morning in the French Quarter.
The video went viral around the same time New Orleans police said it took an alleged French Quarter purse thief into custody after he jumped into the Mississippi River.
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While the New Orleans Police Department could not confirm that the man in the Instagram post is the same suspect in question, the NOPD’s travel path makes the viral video plausible.
Based on NOPD statements, the purse robbery took place on the 300 block of Royal Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where the suspect fled on foot down Bienville Street toward the Mississippi River. Images: Google Maps (Google Maps)
The NOPD alleges that the suspect snatched a woman’s belongings on the 300 block of Royal Street just after 9 a.m. Wednesday and temporarily evaded arrest by jumping into the Mississippi River.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Police Department shared more details about the morning’s events.
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“The suspect fled upriver on Bienville Street. NOPD officers were alerted and joined the chase, along with other non-NOPD uniformed officers. The suspect then jumped into the Mississippi River.”
After briefly resurfacing, as positively identified by NOPD officers from the Eighth District, the suspect reportedly returned to the waters of the river to continue to evade capture.
In a viral video posted Wednesday to @empoweryounola’s Instagram page, a man swims against the current of the Mississippi River with the New Orleans Highway 90 bridge visible in the background. (@empoweryounola on Instagram)
It wasn’t until the suspect was seen “struggling” in the Mississippi current that an RTA ferry helped the alleged purse thief back to land.
Once attended to by an EMS and declared unharmed, the suspect was arrested “in connection” with the purse snatching.
The NOPD has yet to release the name of the suspect in this case, sharing with Fox News Digital that “no information on the identity of the suspect is currently available.”
In a report released by the NOPD this week, the number of burglaries in the Crescent City has increased by an average of 13% over 2022.
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Mug shots of arrested nationals are not released under Louisiana state law.
