FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK/CNN) - Police said video recorded earlier this week at an airport in Southwest Florida shows a ticketed passenger steal a car from the departures area with a child and mother inside the vehicle.
It all started when a restaurant worker noticed someone steal items from her purse, prompting her to chase him down a concourse to the security checkpoint.
Video shows the restaurant worker point out the thief to security, but the suspect, later identified as Addi Tawfiq Maqableh, 36, of Houston, jog onto the departures ramp and move toward a car.
Police said the camera recorded Maqableh get in and steal the car with the child already inside, but a quick-thinking mother jumped into the back seat of the vehicle just before it took off. The father held on for dear life but fell off the car as it raced away.
Investigators said Maqableh stopped to let the mother and child out before attempting to get away. However, Maqableh was arrested a short time later.
Police said he was a ticketed passenger on an United Airlines flight headed to Houston.
TSA said they fully screened him before he entered the concourse.
Maqableh is facing charges including kidnapping, battery and robbery.
The family was not seriously hurt.