Selfie of an unconscious robber turns to criticism

Maroela Media

Selfie of an unconscious robber turns to criticism
Nathan Wood and alleged robber. Photo: Facebook

A thief who tried to rob trainee accountant Nathan Wood (27) and a friend, on Saturday, never knew what hit him. Wood from Cape Town shared the photo on Facebook with the hashtag “WrongPersonToRob” and #Awakies”. Some people found Wood to be courageous and praised him for sharing the photo, while others criticized him and said he was self-righteous and even racist to post a picture of the unconscious robber.

Wood told Maroela Media that he and a friend were walking in Stellenbosch in the early hours of the morning, when they noticed two strange men following them, “We walked faster to get away from them but they stayed on our heels” he said.

The street was quiet, and the alleged robbers pounced on them demanding money. According to Wood, they refused to part with their money and one of the robbers pulled out a knife and pressed it against his chest. “He held the knife against my chest and with his free hand began searching my pockets probably looking for my wallet. It was then that I took a swing at him and hit him in his jaw. He fell and seemed to be unconscious. The other robber who was trying to get money from my friend, ran away, “ said Wood.

Wood stated that he took a photo of the unconscious robber before he went in search of help. He found some security guards and they returned to the scene of the crime. The guards phoned the local police to report the incident, and Wood spoke to the police over the phone giving them the location details. Wood said it was the second time in his life that he visited Stellenbosch and had difficulty trying to explain to the police the exact location.
Wood said he was initially concerned that he might have seriously injured the thief, but when he checked it did not appear to have been so severe.

He said after a while of waiting, he gave his phone number to one of the security guards, telling them to tell the police to call him in connection with the incident. He and his friend then walked away, and the robber was left with the security guards. “I have since not heard anything from the security guards or the police,” he said.

Lieutenant Colonel. Andre Traut, the spokesperson for the Western Cape police, told Maroela Media that his office had no record of the incident.

On the question about the criticism he has received on social media, Wood said he did not take much notice of the negative comments. “This was absolutely not a racial incident. I am a man, and he is a man, and he was trying to rob me. As simple as that. For people trying to turn it into a racial incident is something that I am not disturbed about, “he said.

“It is fascinating that people choose instead to focus on the picture rather than the crime. This man attacked me with the intention severely hurting me. He has pressed a knife against me. It is as if people have become desensitized to crime, but have become more sensitive to racial incidents. If this killer did not choose me, but rather a young girl student, the newspaper headlines today could have been much worse, ” he said.

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