A MAN dressed in all black stole a woman’s handbag from her car at a Mawson shopping centre carpark yesterday (October 7). 

Police say the man, at about 11.35am, opened the passenger door of a vehicle to steal a handbag while an elderly woman was in the driver’s seat.

The man then ran to a parked stolen blue 2013 Subaru Forester bearing Queensland registration plates 898TOO. He entered the driver’s seat and drove towards Mawson Place.

A community member who witnessed the incident chased the vehicle, and attempted to open the driver’s side door of the Subaru while it was stopped in traffic at the intersection of Heard Street and Mawson Street. The vehicle sped off towards Mawson Place.

Today, police recovered the stolen Subaru Forester and would like to speak to the man who attempted to stop the vehicle or any witnesses or people who have dash-cam or CCTV footage from around the time of the incident.

Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website quoting reference number 6642672.