Muggers pepper-sprayed a 66-year-old man at a Harfield Village café and stole his laptop and cellphone, say police.
The man was sitting at an outside table at the Parks Edge Café on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Hampstead Road, at about 10am on Wednesday last week, when two men walking in the road grabbed his laptop.
“The patron resisted, but one male produced a pistol-like weapon, and the other male sprayed the patron with pepper spray,” said Claremont police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Marnus Fourie.
The muggers took both the man’s laptop and cellphone before running off towards Rosmead Avenue.
The man suffered non-serious injuries to his eyes, said Lieutenant Colonel Fourie.
Har-Lyn Neighbourhood watch chairman Derek Bluck said it was the first time he had heard of muggers using pepper spray in the neighbourhood.
“As always, we do recommend that residents keep a lookout as sitting outside at a restaurant with a laptop and cellphone is asking for trouble,” he said.
He advised restaurant patrons to rather find a seat inside, preferably one facing the door.
The café’s owner declined to comment.
Lieutenant Colonel Fourie said the police were checking surveillance footage, but the muggers were still at large.
If you have information about the crime, call the Claremont police at 021 657 2250.
