Victim dragged by getaway car in SF after robbers steal his camera

The view of the Pacific Ocean from the parapet in Sutro Heights Park draws many visitors. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, five robbers stole a camera from a San Francisco man taking photos at the park. The view of the Pacific Ocean from the parapet in Sutro Heights Park draws many visitors. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, five robbers stole a camera from a San Francisco man taking photos at the park. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Victim dragged by getaway car in SF after robbers steal his camera 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A group of five robbers targeted a man taking scenic pictures in the middle of the afternoon in San Francisco’s Sutro Heights Park, snatching his camera and then dragging him along in their getaway car when he tried to take the device back, police said Thursday.

Two of the suspects accosted the victim around 3:17 p.m. Wednesday as he snapped photos in the oceanside park off Point Lobos Avenue, near the Cliff House, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

After the robbers grabbed the 29-year-old man’s camera, he chased them to their getaway car, containing three accomplices, police said. Latching onto his camera through a car window, the victim refused to let go and was briefly dragged by the car as the robbers drove away, police said.

No arrests have been made in the incident.

The victim injured his arm and shoulder in the encounter, but did not need to go to the hospital, police said.

The daylight mugging in the heavily trafficked area follows a spate of violent robberies of sightseers that have recently occurred in popular San Francisco tourist destinations.

In late September, two tourists from China were mugged by a man who said he had a gun near the famed crooked section of Lombard Street on Russian Hill. In June, police broke up another mugging of three female visitors near the same tourist attraction.

And back in May, a tourist was forcibly robbed of his camera as he snapped pictures from the vista atop Twin Peaks.

Anyone with information on the Sutro Heights Park robbery, or any of the other unsolved tourist muggings, can contact the San Francisco Police Department anonymously at (415) 575-4444.

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