March 23, 2022

CHINATOWN, San Francisco—After barely surviving the pandemic the last two years, the owners of a San Francisco Chinatown camera store breathed a sigh of relief as tourists and foot traffic started trickling back in. However, as signs of recovery began to show, the owners found themselves getting robbed and attacked with hammers on Monday, March 21.

The terrifying ordeal began around 3:20 p.m. when a group of three teens walked into the store and asked about camera prices. They hung around for about three minutes and left. The same group returned about 30 minutes later, reports KPIX5.

“All of a sudden, they pulled out a hammer and they started trying to smash the glass,” said shop co-owner Sergio.

The smash-and-grab didn’t go as planned; the cases behind the counter are plexiglass and wouldn’t break. One countertop case made of glass did shatter and that’s when the attack turned from stealing cameras to swinging hammers at Sergio and his co-owner Ariel, according to KPIX5.

“One of the guys up there is trying to hit my partner with a hammer,” said Sergio. “I run and I try to grab a bat that I have. Try to protect myself and my business here.”

A business owner from a neighboring store came running over with a sandwich board trying to stop the attack. He got hit in the head with a hammer and ended up needing 10 stitches.

“One of the guys, they put the pepper spray in my eyes,” said Sergio. “The other guy is trying to hit me with a hammer and I’m trying to protect myself.”

Within minutes, the smash-and-grab hammer attack was over.

Both men, who have been in the camera business for 27 years, were nervous coming to work on Tuesday and are worried about what could happen in the future, reports KPIX5.

“We don’t know these people. They know where we are because we cannot take this stuff and go,” said Sergio. “But now, I’m worried. After this, I’m worried and I’m scared – because god forbid if they come back. Hopefully they not gonna come back. But if they come back with a gun, what happens?”

Chinatown Volunteer Coalition were seen patrolling the streets Monday evening.

The Chinatown Volunteer Coalition told KPIX5 robbers often first pretend to be interested in an item, only to return later on. That’s exactly what happened with the camera shop on Monday.

“Sometimes people are deterred just by seeing sheer numbers, so there have been cases where we have seen someone look like they were going to attack or do something that’s criminal, but because they saw us or other people around, they chose not to,” the volunteer added. “Sometimes we have to yell.”

March 26, 2022

CHASE CENTER, San Francisco—Marcus was out for a walk near the Chase Center by Warriors Way last Friday, March 18, when he was robbed of his watch by three “teens.”

According to ABC7’s Dion Lim, Marcus was pistol-whipped and one person yelled out a homophobic slur. He was later transported to the hospital where he required 5-stitches.

Thanks to witnesses and cameras nearby, SFPD spotted the getaway car in Fisherman’s Wharf and later that night arrested four teens on a number of charges in the Financial District, reports Dion Lim.

Three ghost guns were found at the scene. The suspects are two 17-year-olds from East Palo Alto, a 19-year-old from Vallejo, and an 18-year-old from Richmond.

Marcus told Dion Lim he provided a victim statement at a hearing for the “teens” on Wednesday and said the District Attorney pushed for detention without bail—but that the judge recommended release on house arrest based on the suspects’ ages.

Remember that Offspring song, “Come Out and Play”? “If you’re under 18 you won’t be doing any time.”

Marcus continued to say he is grateful he wasn’t more physically hurt but plans to take some time off from work to heal from the mental trauma. However, he told Dion Lim it’s a bit nerve-wracking for him to go out.

No hate crime charges have been filed, despite the homophobic slur.

March 26, 2022

ALLERTON, Bronx—Authorities are searching for a young woman who punched a worker at a Chinese restaurant in the Bronx.

Police say the woman seen in CCTV footage got into an argument with the employee about the food service, reports ABC7 New York.

The female suspect then went behind the counter and punched the worker repeatedly in the head before taking off.

March 25, 2022

BALDWIN HILLS, Los Angeles—A group of teens are responsible for targeting multiple Asian-owned restaurants throughout the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles with smash-and-grab tactics.

Security footage from inside The Kickin’ Crab showed a group of three “teens” wearing hoods and masks, loitering in the lobby of the restaurant for several minutes on Sunday, March 20, according to CBS News.

The second the employee behind the counter walked away—the teens ripped the cash register off the counter in front of multiple customers and calmly walked out of the restaurant as if they’d been doing it for years.

“We never really thought that someone would steal the register in broad daylight,” Jayson Mai, the manager at The Kickin’ Crab in Baldwin Hills said to CBS News.

Mai recognized the almost identical clothing the three teens wore during his robbery through CCTV footage from a CBS broadcast he saw of possibly the same teens smash-and-grabbing Fortune House Chinese Cuisine on Tuesday, March 22.

“Seeing the video it just clicked in my mind, those are the same teenagers that took our register,” Mai stated.

Mai originally didn’t file a police report last Sunday because the African-American suspects looked like young teens, but decided to do so after watching what happened to Fortune House Chinese Cuisine.

Mai was working Sunday but wasn’t manning the register when a group of customers alerted him that they had just been robbed. He said that the suddenness of the crime caught everyone off-guard, especially since it was in the middle of business, according to CBS News.

“I’ve never seen something like this happen in my eight years of customer service,” Mai continued.

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In both robberies, the person that grabbed the cash register was wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt. Both Asian-owned restaurants are about 5 miles away from each other.

“Just looking at their height and their build, it looks like they’re the same people,” he said.

Los Angeles Police Department told CBS that they had yet to receive a police report from The Kickin’ Crab for Sunday’s incident, though they would like to investigate further to determine if any connections did actually exist between the two crimes.