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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Masina Tupea and her parents only had one day to spend in New Orleans while visiting in late December.

“We’ll get some beignets, hang out for a little bit, see some jazz,” she told WGNO News.

The 18-year-old didn’t expect to spend the day fighting a criminal then going to the hospital.

“And so we’re walking, and that’s how this entire thing happens,” she said.

Tupea says she and her parents were walking down Canal Street on their way to Mother’s when a purse snatcher punched her mother. Tupea went after him.

“And then he kinda just turned around and punched me directly in the eye.”

From there, Tupea’s father also joined the chase. Eventually, they cornered the man in the 100 block of Magazine Street.

For more details on the chase and fight with the thief, click on the video at the top of this story.

After it was over, Tupea says she and her family went to the hospital to get checked out. She says she had a black eye and her mother had a dislocated jaw.

Eventually, she says that the family did get to enjoy some time in the city, and despite the attack, plan to visit again.

“I would definitely go back.”