Toronto woman left stranded following lightning-fast theft

A Toronto woman wants to alert the public after she says she was the target of a distracted theft.

“The crime took a minute and fifty seconds," Linda Ing-Gilbert said.

In security footage provided to CTV News Toronto, you can see a man walk in to Dim Sum King on Dundas Street in Chinatown wearing a hat, a blue coat with a yellow shirt underneath. He walks through the restaurant biding his time.

• Sign up for Toronto breaking news alerts straight to your phone or e-mail

On Saturday, Ing-Gilbert said she was at the restaurant seated at a table with her 89-year-old father.

"I noticed my purse missing," she said.”Naturally I'm like freaking out and trying to locate it."

Ing-Gilbert went to the manager and asked to see the security footage. In the video, the suspect appears to walk behind her chair with his coat in hand.

In one motion, he grabs her purse and tucks it under his coat.

"Everything is in my purse. My car keys, my house key, credit card, my cash, everything's in my purse," she said.

In the video, the thief strolls right past the manger and waves on the way out.

Ing-Gilbert said she was stranded, unable to driver her father home. She said the alleged thief used her credit card to make a purchase at a Walmart in Scarborough less than an hour later.

Toronto Police said that because this person was caught on camera, there is a chance they will find who is responsible. But in most circumstances like this, they need help from the public.

“With this investigation, there's images of the individual that allegedly stole this women's purse, and if anybody recognizes this person please contact police," Const. Caroline de Kloet said.

While distracted thefts happen from time to time in the city, de Kloet said typically it is a practice that somebody does “more than once."

Ing-Gilbert said she has shared her story in an effort to protect other potential victims.

"I hope that somebody will recognize him and come forward and tell us who, and call the police and tell them who it is," she said.