Shocking video has captured a mother teaching her daughter to steal from a woman’s handbag during Mass in a church in Honduras.
Surveillance footage shows the child reaching over the pew in front and taking what appears to be a cellphone at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church in the capital city of Tegucigalpa on Sunday, Oct. 1.
The footage begins with the mother and the girl sitting on a bench directly behind their intended target.
When it was time to stand, as the entire church stood, the daughter moved close to her mother who then gestures for her to reach into the bag of the woman in the pew in front of them.
Mother captured teaching her daughter how to steal in church (video)
The girl held on to her mother and then leaned her hands on the bench while the woman and other churchgoers listened to the priest’s lecture.
At one point she took advantage that the woman was holding her hands together in a praying position and reached over the bench and pulled an item out of the bag.
The child then slipped it to her mother before they both hurried out of the church while their unsuspecting victim remained standing and observing the priest.
The video has sparked outrage, with many condemning it.
Honduran newspaper Tiempo reported that authorities have opened an investigation, but not arrests had been made as of Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Watch the video below.
Guadalupe Church in Honduras pickpocket child and mother disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/KLhi64XZDd
— Anaport110 (@anaport110) October 3, 2023