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MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Arizona man who assaulted disabled woman on train and threw her off wheelchair before trying to steal it arrested

As the train in Phoenix pulled into the station at 12th street and Jefferson, 26-year-old Austin Shurbutt was seen grabbing the wheelchair of a woman whom he threw to the ground
UPDATED JAN 17, 2020
Austin Shurbutt (Source : Police department)
Austin Shurbutt (Source : Police department)

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: Authorities have arrested a man who tried to rob a woman of her wheelchair on a train. 

As the train in Phoenix pulled into the station at 12th Street and Jefferson, 26-year-old Austin Shurbutt was seen grabbing the wheelchair of a woman whom he threw to the ground.

The incident was captured on video and showed the woman doing her best to hold on, but getting thrown down on the ground as Shurbutt takes off with the wheelchair.

According to the clip released by Phoenix police, Shurbutt did not make it too far due to the intervention of heroic passengers who retrieved the wheelchair from him.

Others on the train could be seen stepping in to stop him from the video of the incident which had occurred on Black Friday. 

The suspect had been described as a "white man, mid-20s, 200-215 pounds with dark blonde hair and a goatee" who was finally caught on Saturday afternoon, around a week later after his pictures were shared across social media platforms.

It is not known what helped to identify him but the police shared that he was still sporting the reindeer slippers he had worn on the day of the attempted robbery.

Shurbutt had two outstanding warrants for his arrest and was arrested for the aggravated assault of a healthcare professional in March. He is currently facing five new charges which include robbery, kidnapping, and assault.

Phoenix police had earlier tweeted about the incident and said, "The one bright spot: Our holiday crook didn’t get away with the wheelchair. Heroes on the train came to the rescue, getting the chair back within seconds. Let’s catch him!"

According to a report by Fox, Shurbutt's former wife Shannon Shurbutt opened up on the incident and said, "It made me disgusted that he would do something like that because he has a child with a special need."

"He and I share a child in common and our child has autism. What if that happened to my daughter? I would be scared for my child. I can only imagine what this young woman was feeling like being thrown out of her chair," she added.

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