He tried to take her purse at a Hilton Head gas station. But she was ready to fight, police say

A woman had hundreds of dollars stolen from her at a Hilton Head Island gas station Thursday night but she still fought the thief to get her purse back, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The incident happened just before 9 p.m. at the Speedway on William Hilton Parkway, the report said.

The woman was parked at the gas station pump when she unlocked her lock box that had cash and her firearm in it, the report said.

She left the unlocked box on the driver’s seat when she went into the gas station to make a purchase, the report said. She realized she didn’t have enough money so she came back out to grab an additional $20, and went back in to complete her purchase.

When she came out a second time, she saw a man sitting in her car with her purse in his lap, the report said.

As she ran toward her car, he got out and she began to hit and push him until she got her purse back, the report said. The man got onto a motorcycle and sped off, the report said.

There was $300 missing from the lock box, but the firearm was still inside, the report said.

The woman told deputies she had left the gun unloaded, but the man had put magazines in it before he tried to steal it, the report said.

Neither the woman or an employee who witnessed the incident were able to provide police with identifying information on the suspect, the report said.