Purse strap breaks to foil robber, but 2nd person’s purse stolen

Las Vegas police responded to a pair of purse snatching incidents that occurred blocks apart early Tuesday morning in central Las Vegas.

Police received the first call about 12:50 a.m. that a Hispanic man approached a woman near 4480 E. Charleston Blvd., produced a handgun and demanded her property, according to Metro Lt. David Gordon.

The suspect grabbed the woman’s purse, but the strap broke and the suspect fled empty-handed.

Less than 30 minutes later, Gordon said, police received another call that a suspect made off with a victim’s purse containing personal property. This incident occurred near 5881 E. Charleston Blvd.

The suspect in the first incident is described as a Hispanic man, 18-20 years old and about 220 pounds. The suspect in the second incident is described as a skinny Hispanic man, about 5-feet, 8-inches.