Street Crime Casts Pall on San Francisco's Castro

A man was assaulted and robbed in San Francisco's Castro district on Monday on his way home from work. The incident follows a recent string of violent muggings in the city's popular gay neighborhood, according to a neighborhood blog, the Castro Biscuit.

The website reports that Dalton Huckaby, a popular local personal trainer, was walking home around 9 p.m. on Monday and speaking to a friend on his iPhone 5 when he was attacked. His smartphone was suddenly snatched out of his hand and the thief quickly fled the scene. A second attacker then allegedly assaulted Huckaby from behind and knocked him to the ground.

The victim's face and hand suffered scrapes and bruises but neighbors in the area came to his aid and called police. Although the San Francisco Police Department responded quickly, the robbers were gone.

Huckaby describes the first attacker as about 5-foot-7-inches tall and wearing a black hoodie and dark clothes. The second criminal was described as a 5-foot-10-inch Anglo in a black hoodie and dark clothes with a possible baseball cap. Huckaby also said that he had "tweaker" mannerisms and that he was holding something in his hand -- possibly a gun or another type of weapon.

The blog notes that the attack follows a recent string of similar crimes in the Castro. The San Francisco Examiner reports that two more people were robbed of their cell phones on Tuesday and Wednesday.

To prevent the attacks from reoccurring, there have been safety meetings scheduled and the SFPD has recently posted signs at police stations that designate the area as "LGBT Safe Space," in order to help victims feel more secure.