Be vigilant, folks: A 30-year-old woman was shocked in the face with a taser multiple times on Tuesday afternoon by a mugger demanding her phone. The woman was waiting for the 24-Divisadero bus at the corner of Divis and Haight Street around 1:20 p.m. when the suspect walked past, attacked with the stun gun and attempted to steal her purse.
The victim recounts the incident to Haighteration:
I was at the bus stop on the phone and he walked past me and we looked at each other. Next thing I know there is a taser on my face, on the side of my cheek. He tased me twice on the side of my face and then on my chest yelling give me your phone. The phone dropped and then he started grabbing my purse but I wouldn’t let go. I was screaming and people came out from the neighboring restaurants, shops and he ran down the street. He jumped in a Lexus (I think) SUV and a woman got his license plate number.
The suspect is described as an African American male in his twenties, about 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds. A witness said the plates on the getaway SUV were from Los Angeles and an SFPD officer told the victim muggers have been known to rent cars in order to "mug people all day long."
Last year, we noticed an uptick in brazen phone thefts along the up-and-came-already Divisadero Corridor. (And, let's be honest, pretty much everywhere.) With things like this happening out there in broad daylight, it's probably best to just leave your phone in your pocket or purse at this point. Or, better yet, just keep it at home and never leave your house.
