Similar purse-snatching happened blocks away in Washington days before Kristi Noem’s bag was taken

WASHINGTON — Three days before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's handbag was stolen while she dined out at a Washington restaurant, another woman eating with her own family at a nearby eatery had her purse taken in a similar manner, records show.

WASHINGTON — Three days before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's handbag was stolen while she dined out at a Washington restaurant, another woman eating with her own family at a nearby eatery had her purse taken in a similar manner, records show.

NBC News discovered the similarities in the two incidents after it requested reports of thefts in the neighborhood from Washington police.

It’s not clear whether the two incidents are connected, but the victim in the first purse snatching believes they are.

“I’m shocked at the similarity of the crime,” she told NBC News when she described how her purse was stolen Thursday at a restaurant in the downtown Westin Hotel.

A thief stole Noem’s bag, which contained $3,000 in cash, Sunday at Capital Burger, which is two blocks from the Westin, said a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson and sources familiar with the matter.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kristi-noem-purse-rcna202492

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