4 Arrested In Assault, Robbery Of German Tourists In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- A group of young men suspected of assaulting and robbing two tourists in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon were arrested shortly after the attack.
San Francisco Police Capt. David Lazar told KPIX 5 a group of seven men beat up the tourists from Germany at the corner of Jones and Greenwich on Russian Hill.
"They assaulted them, battered them," said Lazar. "They got a camera, and we're not sure what else. We are still assessing," he said.
Police cars with lights flashing and sirens blaring began chasing the men through North Beach at around 2:45 pm, and caught up with three of the suspects at the Joe Dimaggio Playground in the 600 block of Lombard.
The young men ran through the playground with police on motorcycles in pursuit, then dove under some cars to try and hide.
Officers held the men at gunpoint, ordered them out from underneath the cars, and arrested them without further incident.
A few minutes later, some parents outside nearby Saints Peter and Paul Church flagged down officers and said they thought another suspicious man had been loitering around the church grounds talking on his phone. Just then, the man reappeared and was promptly arrested, Lazar said.
Three other suspects were still at large.
Police were trying to determine whether the suspects might connected to a robbery of Dutch tourists on the famous crooked stretch of Lombard Street last week.
"It's unclear if they're related, but we are investigating that possibility," Lazar said.