WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The West Palm Beach Police Department honored a 9-year-old girl who helped fend off her mother's attacker earlier this month.
Chief Frank Adderley held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to commend the girl for her bravery.
The robbery occurred on the afternoon of Nov. 2 outside the Sabor Tropical Supermarket.
Surveillance video shows that a man ran up to Danielle Mobley from behind as she was getting into her car. He tossed her to the ground as he tried to snatch her purse.
The video shows that Mobley's daughter, Journee, got out of the passenger seat, ran toward her mother's attacker and repeatedly hit him in the head.
"I thought he was running at the store, but he was running toward my mom," Journee said.
Adderley commended Journee's actions, saying it led to a "positive outcome."
"I think she hit him pretty hard," Adderley said jokingly.
According to the police report, the attacker eventually got away with Mobley's purse, which contained her cellphone and $40 in cash.
West Palm Beach police were able to track the stolen phone to an abandoned home on 53rd Street, where the purse and other belongings were found.
Fingerprint evidence collected from the stolen items linked police to Demetrius Jackson.
Jackson, 29, was arrested two days later after the woman and her daughter were able to identify him from a photographic lineup.
He faces battery and robbery charges, thanks to the actions of a brave 9-year-old girl.
"I'm very proud of her, that that was her initial reaction," Mobley said.
This story was originally published by Peter Burke and Ryan Hughes on Scripps station WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida.
