Alleged thieves held three coaches and two students from the Berkeley High School Mountain Bike team at gunpoint and stole their bikes Saturday.
The four bikes that were stolen are worth $20,000 altogether, CBS San Francisco reported. Local police said there have been robberies targeting expensive bikes in the Oakland Hills starting in March, the outlet reported.
Berkeley High Student Kalu Caldas recalled that she was taking her bike off the bike rack as the robbers approached them.
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 12: A biker rides past the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum during the IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Cruz on September 12, 2021 in Santa Cruz, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN)
“Two of the coaches were outside helping to get my bike off and a white sports car just drives up really fast, stops abruptly behind us and two men in ski masks come out of the car and one of them pulled out a gun and says ‘don’t touch that!’” Caldas said, according to CBS San Francisco.
Dan Leaverton, coach of the Berkeley High School team, said they were followed for a certain period of time due to the robbers seeing their bikes, according to CBS San Francisco.
This isn’t the first time bike robberies have occurred in liberal cities in California. Back in November, two men were caught stealing bikes in San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The men both had a history of burglary and were on prohibition when they were caught, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Los Angeles Gangs Are Prowling The City In Crews, Targeting And Robbing The Super Rich, Police Say)
The San Francisco police department recently released a statement discussing how to prevent bike robberies. Some of the tips included putting bikes in a well-lit area, registering bikes, and visiting a local flea market to look for a bike if it was stolen.
The alleged thieves have not yet been apprehended by police, according to CBS San Francisco.