Two good Samaritans are credited with saving a woman being attacked by a homeless panhandler.
The 24-year-old woman was getting ready to enter SEPTA’s 11th Street Station for the Market-Frankford El around 10:20 a.m. on Monday when Lloyd Buckley asked her for money, according to SEPTA Police.
Police say the woman told Buckley, 36, she didn’t have any money and walked over to a token machine. But Buckley followed, cornering the woman.
“As she went to get tokens, the homeless man pushed her between the two token machines and demanded $20. She told him that she did not have that much and he tried to yank her purse from her,” said SEPTA Police Chief Tom Nestel.
The woman screamed and two men rushed over to help, putting a stop to the attack. A nearby SEPTA Police officer also heard the commotion, ran to the scene and arrested Buckley, according to Nestel.
Buckley was charged with robbery, theft, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment. He is being held on $5,000 bail.
As for the good Samaritans, Nestel said while he’d rather people call police than intervene, he calls their actions “heroic and admirable.”
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“This was a tremendous example of how Philadelphians can really be knights in shining armor,” he said.
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
