Mob mugs passenger on Muni bus in SF

File photo of police car lights. Flashing Lights on Police Car File photo of police car lights. Flashing Lights on Police Car Photo: Jacom Stephens / Getty Image Photo: Jacom Stephens / Getty Image Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Mob mugs passenger on Muni bus in SF 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

A pack of 10 thieves followed a man and robbed him on a Muni bus on Monday evening near the San Francisco Civic Center, officials said.

The mob robbery occurred about 6:50 p.m. near the intersection of Market and McAllister streets when the victim, identified as a 27-year-old man, boarded a Muni bus and got into a verbal altercation with one of the suspects, said Officer Robert Rueca of the San Francisco Police Department.

The man then got off the bus and boarded another to avoid conflict, but ten people, including the one involved in the argument, followed him, Rueca added.

Once on the bus, the suspects surrounded the man and “bum-rushed” him, stealing his cell phone before fleeing, Rueca said.

No arrests have been made. At least one of the thieves was described as an 18-year-old man, and the others range in age from 15 to 25, Rueca added.

“If you can just imagine, in a split moment, a crowd of people come up on you and then grabs your stuff. It’s hard to establish all those details when everything is just rushed right upon you,” Rueca said.

No injuries were reported.

The police department is working to obtain surveillance footage of the incident from the Muni bus.

Rueca said incidents like this are not uncommon in the city.

“We see it with younger aged suspects who do these kinds of things either on the street or on buses, but it’s not uncommon that they’ll do things in packs like this,” Rueca said.

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