2 Chinese tourists mugged near famed section of Lombard Street

Tourists crowd into the street to take pictures of Lombard St. from Leavenworth St. in San Francisco, Calif., Saturday May 17, 2014. On Wednesday afternoon, two tourist from China were mugged of their cameras near the famed crooked section of the street. less Tourists crowd into the street to take pictures of Lombard St. from Leavenworth St. in San Francisco, Calif., Saturday May 17, 2014. On Wednesday afternoon, two tourist from China were mugged of their cameras ... more Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 49 Caption Close 2 Chinese tourists mugged near famed section of Lombard Street 1 / 49 Back to Gallery

A pair of robbers threatened to shoot two tourists from China and forced them to hand over their cameras in a broad-daylight mugging on San Francisco’s Russian Hill, near the famed crooked section of Lombard Street, police said Thursday.

The victims — a 36-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman — were robbed around 1:43 p.m. Wednesday at Greenwich and Leavenworth streets, about a block south of Lombard, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department.

The brazen daylight mugging is the latest in a series of crimes targeting tourists in the neighborhood that is often full of sightseers toting expensive cameras.

The two male assailants approached the couple from behind and one of them told the male victim he had a gun and demanded his and his companion’s cameras, police said. The thieves then fled on foot.

Neither tourist was injured in the robbery, police said, and no gun was seen.

The Wednesday mugging occurred two blocks southwest of the site of an August 2015 shooting of a sightseer from Thailand, which also occurred during the middle of the day. In that incident, the tourist gave chase after two muggers stole his camera in the 800 block of Lombard Street, and one of the assailants shot him in the shoulder.

More recently, a pair of tourists on the crooked section of Lombard Street were attacked and mugged in June. In that incident, a 24-year-old woman was punched in the face and the 52-year-old man she was with was pushed to the ground and had his camera swiped..

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley