Mugging Sunday July 3 Barry Road

[Renlau]

My 16 year old son and his friend were mugged on Barry Road yesterday lunchtime, in broad daylight, on the corner of Goodrich Road.

There were two muggers. One of them had a knife (perhaps the other one also had a knife, but this wasn't seen). My son and his friend didn't have any cash on them and couldn't reset their phones. They did give their assailants a bike.

They reported the crime and were interviewed by the police.

For the sake of identification: one of the muggers was white and covered up by a hoodie. The second mugger, with the knife, was mixed race, kind of a cafe au lait complexion and wearing dreadlocks.

A local resident, 'a big guy', my son said, eventually intervened and came out of his home to confront the muggers. I'd like to say a big thank you to this guy.

So, people beware and any sightings of these two muggers, please post.

Thanks

[Gaynor Hill]

I do hope your son and his friends are OK very shaken I expect

All the best

Gaynor

[Cora]

Hi,

Sorry to ask but with growing sons I am trying to keep up with stuff...what does 'couldn't reset their phones' mean? Do people mug kids now and expect them to handover the passwords or something?

Another 'hug a hero' to the guy that came out to help.

All the best to your son and his friend.

[mynamehere]

Here's what the police have to say. If the woman who helped reads this please get in touch with the police! If you know her, please tell her that her help is needed in this investigation.

From Louise Wissen:

The 2 boys who were robbed didn't have their phones stolen but one of the boys told (the thieves) to take his bike maybe due to fact he was threatened with a knife.

Children should always tell their parents where they are going and who they're with.

Parents should also tell their children not to have anything expensive on display that could attract attention, Mobile phones are the most common item that teenagers have on display.Unless they need to call someone they should keep the phone out of sight. Also be aware of their surroundings.

On the report it mentions a female told the 2 suspects to leave the boys alone but the officers say they have yet to identify who she is. If you know who this female is then I think the police would like to speak with her in connection with this incident to see if she has any more information that could help with the investigation.

Regards

Louise

Louise Wisson

PSCO 7100MD

Tele: 020 8721 2447

Email: EastDulwich [email protected]

[beejay]

Thank you for posting this as the other 16 year old is my grandson and it was him who had his bike stolen.

[Renlau]

Beejay, would just like to say that your grandson did the right thing giving up the bike, although I know it meant a lot to him for various reasons. It was quick thinking on his part. He's to be commended.

Louise, I take it that you're referring to a younger age range when you urge parents to always know where their children are and who they're with. By 16, my son is a young adult and requires some freedom in order to mature and learn how to be in the world by himself. I can't keep tabs on all his movements any longer.

My son often uses his phone to listen to music as he walks around. He knows to be as discreet as possible. But also muggers will correctly assume that most middle class kids have smart phones by a certain age. It seems these two muggers were on a fishing expedition looking for whatever they could land.

Cora, the muggers expected my son to reset his phone using a pass so that it no longer needed his thumbprint to open and function. Hope that helps.

[Jaypainter]

Sorry to hear about this , obviously the youngsters took the right course of action in not resisting, unfortunately these incidences are on the increase and one can't assume that youngsters will be vigilant all the time, it takes time to be totally street wise. A big up to the person who intervened it's not something that everybody will do I know that from experience. The description of the individuals always helps especially the one with dreadlocks. I suggest keeping this alive by reposting it as its witnesses and those that live locally who may help to identify this pair.

Best wishes

Jason

[LondonMix]

Also, who wouldn't let their 16 year old in broad daylight with a friend walking along Barry Road. Knowing where your kids are has absolutely nothing to do with this.

Glad no one was hurt and I hope they recover the bike.

To the OP-- would it be possible to add height, build or even an age estimate to the muggers' descriptions? Hair color or eye color, particularly of the white mugger would be useful. White guy in a hoodie is so vague, I'm not sure anyone can use it to identify these guys.

[alice]

lots of kids that age look and dress the same - don't think we should be out there spotting crims.

[LondonMix]

I tend to agree alice. A really detailed description of course can be helpful but a vague description really isn't much use and may unintentionally lead to someone innocent being harassed by a member of the public.

[Jeremy]

A description - even fairly vague - becomes pretty meaningful when combined with location/time. Especially if they approached/hassled other people.

It's about finding witnesses... not about calling the cops on every lad with dreadlocks in SE London.

[LondonMix]

Hmm? I'm not saying they shouldn't provide a description to the police. I'm just not sure what good it will do posting a 'for identification' description that's so vague on the forum. Asking people to post sightings seems a bit of an ask based on white guy in hoodie with mixed race friend.

Of course, I expect the police will build up a profile based on multiple incidents reported to them and hopefully capture the men in question.