NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A 26-year-old Guinean immigrant living in New York said she took on three muggers on the subway after they stole her purse containing her green card.

The New York Post said Wednesday after one of the muggers punched Marie Conde to allow an accomplice to steal her purse, the immigrant leaped into action to retrieve her belongings.


"I didn't know what to do, so I just started running after them," Conde said of Sunday's incident. "I grabbed one of them by the arm."

Conde said after the mugger was unable to escape her clutches, the would-be thieves apparently thought better of the crime and fled the scene without her purse.

Two men, ages 16 and 19, were later arrested and accused of taking part in the early morning heist.

For Conde, receiving some facial bruises and placing her life in further danger was worth retrieving her green card.

"I didn't even have money in my purse," she told the Post. "I had my green card and papers that I didn't want to lose. It wasn't about the money, it was about the papers."