DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse was stolen days after similar incident just blocks away: report
A woman dining with her family recently had her purse stolen in downtown Washington, D.C., just a few blocks away from the restaurant where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s handbag was swiped, according to a report.
The victim told NBC News that she was eating at a restaurant inside the Westin Hotel last Thursday and noticed that her purse was missing around the time her family received the check. A police report cited that the suspect snatched her bag "from the chair it was hanging on," the network added.
Three days later, Noem’s purse, which contained $3,000 in cash as well as personal documents, including her passport, keys, driver's license and a DHS badge, was stolen at The Capital Burger, a restaurant located less than a quarter mile away.
In both incidents, the suspect was identified as a White male wearing dark clothing, a dark baseball hat and a N95 mask, NBC News reported, citing the victim of the Westin theft and two sources familiar with surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement in the Noem case.
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"I’m shocked at the similarity of the crime," the victim of the Westin incident told NBC News.
It’s unclear if the two incidents are connected, but the victim also said police contacted her Tuesday, mentioned the Noem case and asked if she herself was involved in politics – she is not.
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A Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the agency cannot comment on the Noem theft because it is not leading the investigation.
In the Noem incident, "Her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren" and she was using the cash in her purse "to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts," a Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News.
Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.