Man mugged of mandolin and beaten with it in SF

A mandolin thief used the instrument to attack its owner in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. A mandolin thief used the instrument to attack its owner in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Man mugged of mandolin and beaten with it in SF 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

A 35-year-old man was mugged of his mandolin in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco and beaten so badly with the musical instrument he had to be taken to a hospital, police said Monday.

The assault and robbery took place in the 1100 block of Howard Street at 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, police said. The suspect took the victim’s mandolin and hit him with the instrument.

The victim, whose name was not released, fell to the ground and the assailant continued to beat him, police said. While the victim was collapsed, the robber rifled through his pockets and stole an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing, police said.

The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police said they have not yet made an arrest or identified a suspect.

It was the second time this year that a victim was robbed of a musical instrument and beaten in a street attack in San Francisco. In June, a pair of muggers stole a 27-year-old man’s ukulele and pummeled him with a hammer near the Civic Center in San Francisco.

Annie Ma is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ama@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @anniema15