Saturday night crime spree. Four armed robberies. Eleven victims. A pistol-whipped woman. One gunman.
And a crime scene you might not expect: Coronado.
Police in the upscale city of Coronado are hunting for a gunman who pulled off a series of brazen robberies on Saturday.
The one-man crime wave began at about 10:30 p.m. when the suspect pulled out a gun and robbed a couple sitting on a bench in Centennial Park, a usually idyllic spot on Coronado's north shore that has been memorialized in thousands of photos, with the skyline of downtown San Diego across the water.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
After the gunman took the couple's cell phones and other valuables, he went to the other side of the park, selecting a group of five people as his next target, and again brandishing his weapon.
Heading west, the suspect, who police said is in his early to mid-20s and has tattoos on his face, made his way toward the parking lot of Ferry Landing, where he encountered a woman by herself. Police said he was pistol-whipping the victim in the head when a three people approached, who became the robbers next victims.
Local
Unbeknown to the gunman, the group of five victims from Centennial Park had also made gone to the parking lot, and, after a struggle, they managed to disarm him. The suspect, however, was able to flee and make his getaway in an unknown vehicle, police said.
Police said two of the victims were hurt fighting with the suspect but only had minor injuries. The woman who was attacked, however, was brought to the hospital for treatment of her non-life threatening injuries.
Anybody with information about the crime spree or gunman — who was wearing a gray or black T-Shirt and black shoes, and was described as being thin — is being urged to call (619) 522-7350. Coronado police are specifically asking people or businesses in the area with security cameras to contact them.
Teen Shot During 2020 Jewelry Robbery in Downtown Coronado
While crime is not unheard of in Coronado, Saturday's robberies do stand out in a city with a very low crime rate. Area residents were shocked in 2020 when a teenager selling a gold necklace to someone he met on social media was shot on Orange Avenue in May of that year.
Three teenagers were eventually arrested in connection to the shooting of 18-year-old Jacob McKanry in downtown Coronado on the evening of May 4. McKanry believed he was meeting up with prospective jewelry buyers after setting up the sale online.
While negotiating the proposed sale, which had been coordinated on the app OfferUp, the suspects allegedly snatched the jewelry away from McKanry, then shot him while fleeing.
McKanry sat down with NBC 7 after being released from the hospital and described the confrontation that left him down in the street.
“I just thought of all the things that I hadn’t done yet, and there was a voice just telling me that, you know, I wasn’t gonna die,” said McKanry.
City News Service contributed to this report -- Ed.
