Jonathan Owens, who is married to renowned gymnast and Olympian Simone Biles, has revealed an alleged incident in which he says he was nearly robbed in Milan while there to attend the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Owens, who is a safety for the Chicago Bears, has been in Milan and Cortina during the Olympic games to attend alongside his wife. Together, the athletic power couple has been to see figure skating and many other events during the sporting tournament. However, it was outside of the athletic arenas that Owens says he encountered a terrifying incident when he says he was almost robbed by a bold would-be thief. Here’s what to know about the incident.
Owens Took to X to Reveal the Scary Incident
GettyJonathan Owens and gymnast SImone Biles laugh while attending figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina
Jonathan Owens described the alleged attempted robbery on the social media platform X. The post on his account says that a person came up to him and tried to grab his shopping bag out of his hand. However, Owens was able to thwart off the would-be thief and hold onto his shopping bag because he had the straps of the bag wrapped around his hand, thus making it difficult for the thief to successfully take hold the bag. Owens revealed that wrapping shopping bag straps around his hand is a habit, and fortunately it was a habit that allowed him to maintain ownership of his recently purchased items.
Not somebody just tried to snatch my shopping bag in Milan, force of habit i had it tied around my hand so he couldnât get it and took off running immediatelyâ¦.but still crazy
â Jonathan Owens (@jjowens_3) February 15, 2026
When the attempted thief was unable to grab the bag out of Owens’ possession, Owens says that the person very quickly ran away from the scene. Even though he didn’t lose ownership of his shopping bag because the alleged attempted robbery was unsuccessful, Owens claims that the experience of nearly being robbed was still a crazy one. It is unclear if Simone Biles was with Owens at the time of the incident.
Milan is Known for Having Prolific Pickpocketing
GettyJonathan Owens and Simone BIleskisses husband Jonathan Owens #36 of the Chicago Bears before the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on January 10, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The incident Owens describes having nearly occurred to him in Milan is not a rare occurrence in the area, unfortunately. The U.S. Department of State says that it is a common crime in the city of Milan and that tourists to the area should be aware of the frequency of pickpocketing, bag snatching, and street robberies.
Bag snatching is more common near tourist destinations and travelers may be targeted based on nationality, particularly if individuals appear to be tourists, per the U.S. Department of State. Given that organized pickpocketing schemes are common in Italian areas popular with tourists, it’s likely that the frequency of pickpocketing and bag snatching has increased with the influx of visitors to Milan and Cortina during the Winter Olympics.
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