MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two women are recovering and a man is facing charges after, police say, they were attacked.
Nicholas Wren, 31, is charged with robbery and assault.
Police say he targeted the women in the area of Floyd Alley and Front Street.
“You have to keep your eyes open. You have to be very watchful, you know. As a young person, it doesn’t matter. You just have to be very attentive to your surroundings,” Tameika Wilson said.
This good advice comes after she heard about the scary encounter two young women had early Monday morning.
The women told officers they were at a Downtown bar off Monroe when a man approached them inside asking for money.
A little later they left, and so did Wren.
According to the police report, the women walked past Floyd Alley on the east side of Front Street when Wren attempted to grab one woman’s purse that was strapped across her body.
Wren is accused of kicking the other friend in the chest, snatching a purse from her and taking off down Floyd Alley.
One woman tried running after him, but failed to catch up.
She claims she saw him rifling through the purse, dumping some items on the ground and then he disappeared.
The victims gave Wren’s description to police.
Officers spotted a man matching the suspect’s description later in the day in a different part of Downtown on Pontotoc and Front Street.
The area is known to be busy.
The officers say when they tried talking to Wren, he took off running.
They caught up to him at Beale Street Landing, right on the Mississippi, where he was arrested.
Visitors enjoying time there on Tuesday say, “You just never know what’s going to happen, so you just have to be careful wherever you go.”