Cheerleader tackles 6-foot theft suspect

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 30 (UPI) -- A 16-year-old, 110-pound varsity cheerleader in Oklahoma says her tackle and takedown of a 6-foot-tall suspected thief at a local mall was "an instinct thing."

Kealey Oliver, a 5-foot-2 cheerleader for Moore High School in Oklahoma City, said she was at the city's Penn Square Mall near the Macy's on the second floor Sunday when she saw a man running toward her with a bag in his hand and security officers running after him shouting "thief," The Oklahoman reported Friday.

"I got in his way and grabbed him," Oliver said. "I turned him over and put him on his stomach. It was more of an instinct thing."

The man was led away by security officers. Police confirmed the incident but did not offer further details or the suspect's name.

Oliver, who will be a junior in the fall, credited cheerleading with giving her the strength to stop the man.

Cheerleading "makes you strong," she said.