Guy Beauchemin wasn’t thinking about the high rate of street crime in Rio de Janeiro when he decided to stretch his legs. The Candiac, Que.-native’s mind was almost certainly on his daughter Marie-Ève’s dream of bringing home Olympic gold in the women’s 69 kg weightlifting class.

Realizing he’d veered into a rough neighbourhood, Beauchemin did the one thing every tourist is warned not to do; he pulled out his smartphone.

“I had my cell in my hand, trying to figure out where I’m at and where I want to go,” he told CTV News. “Two guys on motorcycles tried to grab my cell.”

Beauchemin didn’t give in. He tightened his grip on his phone. The pair of thieves quickly moved on to find an easier target.

“I was lucky enough to have some local people there to help me get out of there,” he said. “The locals helped me quite a bit. They got me on a bus. Someone tried to pay the fare for me. They got me to a safe place. ”

The incident happened Monday.

Petty theft has always been big business in Rio. The city is notorious for brazen muggings in broad daylight. Much to the dismay of the more than 85,000 police and military personnel stationed near sports venues and tourist hotspots -- business is booming.

Street crime in Rio has surged as Brazil’s economy continues to falter. Muggings in the city rose 14 per cent from January to May, according to the most recent data. The downtown business district saw street crime jump 26 per cent over the same period, that figure swelled by 44 per cent in the area that encompasses Rio’s iconic Copacabana Beach.

Organizers have promised safety at the games, but several athletes and officials have reported being mugged on city streets.

Security tensions have been on the rise since a bullet struck a media tent at an equestrian event Saturday, and a bus carrying journalists was pelted with rocks Tuesday night.

Beauchemin says his stay in Rio has been a positive one aside from the attempted robbery. His daughter Marie-Ève placed ninth overall in her event Wednesday.

“It’s a nice city,” he said. “(But) it’s not equal everywhere in terms of richness and security.”

With a report from CTV’s Genevieve Beauchemin in Rio de Janeiro