A Buckhead woman on Saturday took matters into her own hands after she said she was mugged in broad daylight for her iPhone while shopping at the Buckhead Loop.
Christian Rapp also has a warning for upcoming holiday shoppers who tend to talk on the phone while going from store to store: Don’t.
Users of Apple's popular iPhones and iPads have been the targets of snatch-and-grab bandits in Atlanta this year. The thieves have used threats, intimidation or simply just grabbed the smart devices, in addition to the Motorola Droid X.
Rapp, at 5 feet 2 inches and 100 pounds, found herself chasing a robber on foot around 11:30 a.m. Saturday after the man followed her into an Ulta store off Lenox Road and snatched the iPhone 4 she had to her ear, she said.
Rapp said she’d just entered the hair products store and was looking at a display at the front of the store while talking on the phone.
Store video showed a man walking in behind her, passing her and suddenly turning around and snatching the phone from her ear, she said.
Rapp, who works for Wells Fargo in Buckhead, said the suspect grabbed the phone with such force that it felt like he “took the right side of my face off.”
The robber also tried to snatch Rapp’s purse but she said she held on to it tightly.
“He just grabbed the phone and bolted,” said Rapp, who immediately chased after him. “I ran after him for probably about a good 10 minutes,” she said. “I work out a lot so I used that to my advantage.”
Rapp, who had on her gym clothes, said she stayed “right on his tail, screaming at the top of my lungs” until the man reached a fence along Georgia 400 and quickly hustled over it. She said two other men were waiting for him on the other side and a MARTA station was in the distance.
Despite her size, Rapp said she was fully prepared to tackle the man to get her phone back. She also said the man was running so hard he never turned around to challenge or threaten her.
“He was like, ‘Oh crap, I’ve stolen some crazy girl’s phone,’ “ she said.
Unable to get her phone, Rapp said she returned to the store. By that time Atlanta police were on the scene.
Police spokeswoman Kim Jones said the only information officers had was that the suspect was a black male wearing a white shirt and was seen running from the store with two other black males toward the MARTA station
Jones said officers canvassed the MARTA station and spotted a man fitting the description of the one suspected in the attack on Rapp.
Jones said the man had his hands in a trash can as an officer approached. The officer found a small handgun inside the trash can and the man was taken back to the store. Rapp, however, was not able to identify him as her attacker, police said. The man was arrested on outstanding warrants.
Rapp said she was told by a store employee that the three men have been seen hanging around the store before. They've also entered the store asking to use employees’ cell phones.
Rapp, the oldest of three children, said the experience has taught her a big lesson.
“That guy followed me in there and I never saw him. I was going about my merry way, talking on the phone,” she said. “You don’t think that somebody is going to walk by and snatch your stuff.”
She said she’ll put her phone in her purse before getting out of her car from now on.
“Just put your phone in your purse,” Rapp advised women. “Don’t get out of the car talking on the phone.”
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