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SJ Women Hit By 'The Rippers' Purse-Snatchings

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Mar 28, 2008 3:00 pm US/Pacific

SJ Women Hit By 'The Rippers' Purse-Snatchings

 CBS 5 CrimeWatch
SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / AP) ― San Jose police are asking for the public's help in breaking up a ring of purse snatchers who are targeting Asian women.

Detectives said two or three separate gangs they are calling "The Rippers" have been stealing the purses of women as they walk through parking lots.

"They usually take advantage of the victim, by taking her by surprise. They approach her, they pull the purse away from her body, and some of the robberies have been very violent," said Officer Enrique Garcia. "We've had about four incidents where the suspects were armed with a gun, or knives."

Police suspect the ring has committed 21 robberies since November, some of them in crowded and well-lit parking lots.

Four arrests have been made so far, but the attacks are continuing.

In the most recent incident, a woman was robbed of her purse as she walked through a Costco parking lot Tuesday evening.

Police said in all but a single case, the victims of the attacks have been Asian.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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