Men with knife cut and punch man in North Berkeley robbery
The couple spoke only Spanish so they did not immediately respond when the robbers demanded their property, Berkeley police said.
Two men with a knife accosted a man and woman in North Berkeley on Saturday night cutting off the woman's purse and slashing at the man after punching him, authorities report.
The male victim sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene, the Berkeley Police Department said in response to a Berkeley Scanner inquiry.
BPD said the couple had been outside Saturday at 8 p.m. in the 2100 block of Delaware Street, east of Shattuck Avenue, when two strangers wearing masks approached them.
The couple spoke only Spanish so they did not immediately respond when the robbers demanded their property, Berkeley police said.
When one of the assailants reached out to grab the woman's purse, the man with her reacted, police said.
The robbers then began punching the man, police said.
Emilie Raguso
The robbers pushed the woman and cut off her purse, police said. They also slashed at the man, injuring him. Then they fled.
The robbers were described as Black men around 35 years old, 5 feet 8 to 6 feet tall, with muscular builds and dark complexions, police said. They wore face masks and baggy clothes and had a "bad odor."
The investigation is ongoing.
There were at least 17 other robberies reported in Berkeley from Jan. 1-26, the most recent data available, according to CrimeMapping.com. In the past six months, there were 124.
Historically, Berkeley has averaged about one robbery a day although that number dipped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more about robberies in Berkeley on The Berkeley Scanner.
This story was updated Monday after more details became available.
