Woman attacked with her own pepper spray at SF protest

Lights and siren of police car in San Francisco. Lights and siren of police car in San Francisco. Photo: Bill Hutchinson / The Chronicle Photo: Bill Hutchinson / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Woman attacked with her own pepper spray at SF protest 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

A woman attending a protest in San Francisco attempted to ward off a robber with pepper spray, but the suspect managed to turn the weapon against her and spray her before stealing her sunglasses and hat, authorities said.

The incident occurred about 1:45 p.m. Saturday at Sansome and Sutter streets, a quarter-mile away from the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

The ICE headquarters in San Francisco was the site of a weeklong encampment that was raided Monday morning, leading to the arrest of 39 protesters.

A 59-year-old woman was attending an unidentified protest Saturday when a man in his early 20s grabbed her hat and sunglasses, police said.

The woman attempted to fight him off by deploying her pepper spray, but the tables turned when the suspect grabbed the pepper spray out of her hands and sprayed her back, police said.

The suspect, who was not identified, ran into the crowd and disappeared with the woman’s sunglasses and hat in hand.

No arrests were made.

The woman was treated by medical personnel at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani