PublishedJuly 6, 2024, 15:54
Bülach ZHYouth Gang Uses Pepper Spray to Rob Paolo W. (28)
Pablo W.* (28) was nearly robbed in Bülach. One of the perpetrators sprayed pepper spray into his eyes. This is not the first incident of this kind.
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A 28-year-old man from Uster ZH was almost robbed by three assailants while visiting Bülach ZH. He was able to escape.
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However, the perpetrators had sprayed a load of pepper spray into his face beforehand.
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He found two more victims on Reddit who had also experienced a pepper spray attack in Bülach.
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However, the police are not aware of any increase in such incidents.
Pablo W.* (28) from Uster was unable to work for three days. “I suffered a trauma. Since then, my whole body has been shaking and I switch to ‘fight or flee’ mode when I see groups of young men at night,” he says.
He was the victim of an attempted robbery. “And in Bülach of all places. I’m from Uster and our town has a reputation for being ‘dangerous’. But something like that has never happened to me in Uster,” says Pablo.
About two weeks ago, he visited a friend in Bülach. As he was walking to the train station at night, the satnav led him through Dammstrasse. “I couldn’t have known that this street was dangerous,” says Pablo. “But I should have listened to my gut feeling.” Because he had seen from a distance that a young man was standing in the light of a street lamp. “The way he was standing told me that something was fishy here. I should have turned around.”
“Then I knew: They didn’t want anything good for me.”
As the suspicious young man approached, he asked for a cigarette. Two other guys approached Pablo from the left and right. “I knew then: They didn’t mean me any good.” One of the perpetrators immediately sprayed pepper spray in his face. “Even though I was wearing glasses, I was hit hard,” says the 28-year-old. He ran away as fast as he could. “After that, I spent three hours washing my eyes. It burned badly!”
He also injured himself while fleeing: “I had an old sports injury for a while that had actually healed, but now it hurts again.”
On Reddit he finds two other pepper spray victims
He called the police immediately after the incident, but since Pablo did not know the street name and he was safe with his friend, no patrol came to the scene. Everyone assumed that the perpetrators had long since disappeared anyway.
The next day, Pablo went to the Reddit internet forum to find out about the possible consequences of his muscle injury. “There I came across two other victims who had also experienced a pepper spray attack in Bülach.” Given the small size of the city and because robberies with pepper spray seem rather unusual to him, he assumes that it is always the same group of perpetrators.
Second victim did not file a report
According to the Zurich Cantonal Police, the police are not aware of any other attempted robberies involving pepper spray apart from the attack on Pablo W. Media spokeswoman Carmen Surber: “We have not seen any increase in this, but it is of course also quite possible that the victims did not go to the police at all.”
A young man (22), who claims to have also been a pepper spray victim in Dammstrasse last November, told 20 Minutes: “They even put me in a chokehold from behind before I could free myself. Then they sprayed pepper spray right into my eyes. I was able to run away too.”
The paramedics who were called said that it would hardly be worth reporting the incident. He then reported the incident to the Bülach city police, but did not actually file a report.
“Shouldn’t be that difficult to catch them”
Nevertheless, the November victim is calling on the police to try to identify the perpetrators. “Since it has happened a few times now and always in the same place, it shouldn’t be that difficult to catch these guys.”
When asked again, the Bülach city police referred to the answer from the cantonal police. “The Bülach city police are also only aware of the last-mentioned incident,” they said. But they promised: “If scenes form or there is a frequency of such crimes, the necessary steps will be taken.”
PublishedJuly 6, 2024, 15:54
Bülach ZHYouth gang uses pepper spray to rob Paolo W. (28)
Pablo W.* (28) was almost robbed in Bülach. One of the perpetrators sprayed pepper spray into his eyes. This is not the first incident of this kind.
von
-
A man (28) from Uster ZH was almost robbed by three assailants during a visit to Bülach ZH. He was able to escape.
-
Beforehand, however, the perpetrators had sprayed a load of pepper spray into his face.
-
On Reddit, he found two more victims who experienced a pepper spray attack in Bülach.
-
However, the police are not aware of any increase in incidents.
Pablo W.* (28) from Uster was unable to work for three days. “I suffered a trauma. Since then, my whole body has been shaking and I switch to ‘fight or flee’ mode when I see groups of young men at night,” he says.
He was the victim of an attempted robbery. “And in Bülach of all places. I’m from Uster and our town has a reputation for being ‘dangerous’. But something like that has never happened to me in Uster,” says Pablo.
A good two weeks ago, he visited a friend in Bülach. As he was walking to the train station at night, the satnav led him through Dammstrasse. “I couldn’t have known that this street was dangerous,” says Pablo. “But I should have listened to my gut feeling.” Because he had seen from a distance that a young man was standing in the light of a street lamp. “The way he was standing told me that something was fishy here. I should have turned around.”
“Then I knew: They didn’t want anything good for me.”
As the suspicious young man approached, he asked for a cigarette. Two other guys approached Pablo from the left and right. “I knew then: They didn’t mean me any good.” One of the perpetrators immediately sprayed pepper spray in his face. “Even though I was wearing glasses, I was hit hard,” says the 28-year-old. He ran away as fast as he could. “After that, I spent three hours washing my eyes. It burned badly!”
He also injured himself while fleeing: “I had an old sports injury for a while that had actually healed, but now it hurts again.”
On Reddit he finds two other pepper spray victims
He called the police immediately after the incident, but since Pablo did not know the street name and he was safe with his friend, no patrol came to the scene. Everyone assumed that the perpetrators had long since disappeared anyway.
The next day, Pablo went to the Reddit internet forum to find out about the possible consequences of his muscle injury. “There I came across two other victims who had also experienced a pepper spray attack in Bülach.” Given the small size of the city and because robberies with pepper spray seem rather unusual to him, he assumes that it is always the same group of perpetrators.
Second victim did not file a report
According to the Zurich Cantonal Police, the police are not aware of any other attempted robberies involving pepper spray apart from the attack on Pablo W. Media spokeswoman Carmen Surber: “We have not seen any increase in this, but it is of course also quite possible that the victims did not go to the police at all.”
A young man (22), who claims to have also been a pepper spray victim in Dammstrasse last November, told 20 Minuten: “They even put me in a chokehold from behind before I could free myself. Then they sprayed pepper spray right into my eyes. I was able to run away too.”
The paramedics who were called said that it would hardly be worth reporting the incident. He then reported the incident to the Bülach city police, but did not actually file a report.
“Shouldn’t be that difficult to catch them”
Nevertheless, the November victim is calling on the police to try to identify the perpetrators. “Since it has happened a few times now and always in the same place, it shouldn’t be that difficult to catch these guys.”
When asked again, the Bülach city police referred to the answer from the cantonal police. “The Bülach city police are also only aware of the last-mentioned incident,” they said. But they promised: “If scenes form or there is a frequency of such crimes, the necessary steps will be taken.”