Man accused of stealing iPhone from 'hero'

GAINESVILLE, Fla., July 10 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they arrested a man accused of stealing a "hero" woman's iPhone while she was administering first aid to a friend in cardiac arrest.

The Gainesville Police Department said the woman and another friend were rendering first aid to a male friend who went into cardiac arrest at a Gainesville shopping center Monday when the woman set her iPhone on the ground to free up her hands.

The woman noticed her phone was missing when paramedics arrived and told police officers about two suspicious people she noticed in the area during the incident.

Officers questioned one of the suspects, Shaquille Simmons, who denied stealing the phone. The woman called the missing device and it rang in Simmons' pocket.

The phone was returned to its owner and Simmons, who allegedly shouted racial slurs at the officers, was arrested on a charge of grand theft.

"The Gainesville Police Department extends our sincere thanks to this female that selflessly offered emergency medical aid to her downed friend," the police department said in a statement. "We are glad that we could capture and arrest someone that would stoop so low as to steal from you while you were being a hero."