Police are crediting passersby for jumping into action to catch a thief during a brief crime spree in East Vancouver.

Around 2:30 p.m. on April 24, someone tried to steal the purse of a 64-year-old woman standing at the Main Street and East King Edward intersection. After she struggled with the robber (who got away with her purse), she fell to the ground. (She was later taken to the hospital with minor injuries.)

About five minutes after the purse-snatching, a 1999 Toyota van that was left running on Main Street near East 19^th Avenue was stolen.

Then around 4:25 p.m. at a restaurant on Kingsway Avenue near Fraser Street, a man standing in a lineup grabbed money from the cash register when the till opened.

However, when the suspect fled, bystanders pursued and caught him, holding him down until police arrived.

Unfortunately, two of the individuals who chased after the thief received minor injuries from the incident.

A 23-year-old man from Calgary, Walker Franciscas Frijters is in custody and charged with robbery, two counts of theft, assault, assault with a weapon, and assault causing bodily harm.