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news
Cyclist fights off gang who threatened him with hammer (TikTok/Raaftor)Cyclist fights off gang who threatened him with hammer during attempted bikejacking
A cyclist who was pushed from his e-bike and threatened with a hammer during an attempted bikejacking uploaded the video footage from the incident to social media and recalled how he was able to fight the gang off with just a can of red spray paint.
West Midlands Police and a local force for the Sandwell area reported this was one of a string of robberies and attempted robberies in early August, three men and a teenage boy suspected to have been involved in this and other incidents now arrested. The gang targeted cyclists, scooter riders and those on motorbikes, threatening one cyclist with a knife during an incident in West Bromwich on August 8.
Rafal Kalinowski was riding home from his job as a warehouse operative when he sensed trouble when six masked moped-riders without registration plates passed in the opposite direction before quickly turning and following the Cube electric mountain bike rider.
This happened a week ago a gang of motorbikes trying to steal a man bike in west Bromwich
Cc( raaftor ) pic.twitter.com/e0jccpL0g5
— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) August 13, 2024
"They shoved me off the bike and I hit my head. One of them had a hammer but I swore at him in Polish. He was surprised," the cyclist recalled, explaining to MailOnline how he always carries a can of spray paint in the side pocket of his bag and was just hoping it still worked.
"It was three years old and I was just hoping that it worked as it was past its sell by date. I just started spraying and they ran away. I was very happy as they did not get my bike," he continued.
In the footage, since uploaded to TikTok, the gang can be seen fleeing from the scene as soon as he sprayed the paint at them, a can he was later asked to bring to the police station having reported the incident.
"I brought the spray on Amazon and it is perfectly legal. I am so glad that had it with me and that it worked. I've never been in a situation like that before, and hope it never happens again," he said. "I love cycling so it would have been devastating to have it stolen."
Numerous arrests have been reported in the area this month, West Midlands Police saying nine had been arrested for a series of thefts and attempted thefts in the Sandwell area, while Sandwell Police explained that four people were arrested in relation to this specific incident, and other similar ones.
"Three men and a teenage boy have been arrested in connection with a number of robberies and vehicle crime offences in Sandwell," the force explained. "Over the last 48 hours, there have been several reports of robberies and vehicle crime offences in Tipton and West Bromwich.
"On Tuesday (7 Aug), a scooter was robbed from a man in his 30s on Dewberry Drive by a group of men also riding scooters. On the same day, a man in his 50s was pushed off his electric bike by a group of men on Bromford Lane, West Bromwich and attempt was made to steal his bike.
"A motorbike was also stolen from Burnt Tree in Tipton and an attempt was made to steal a moped from Bromford Lane, West Bromwich. The following day (8 Aug), on West Bromwich Ringway, a man in his 30s was threatened with a knife by a group of men and his electric bike and mobile phone were stolen.
"Last night, officers were patrolling the Wednesbury area when they received reports of four men loading a bike into a taxi. We quickly responded and arrested the four occupants and recovered the bike which is believed to be stolen. Two 20-year-old men, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy from Sandwell have been arrested in connection with the recent incidents and remain in custody for questioning."
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
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25 comments
Good for him
"I brought the spray on Amazon and it is perfectly legal."
Only for use against robbers: spraying the side of a building will get you five years, unless you're Banksy.
Well done Rafal, quick thinking and the right result. We should all be grateful to you.
Should we have a whip around and buy him a new can?
I'm totally on the side of Mr.Kalinowski, naturally; the trouble is it's not necessarily "perfectly legal" is it? As far as I understand it, if you carry anything with the intention of using it as a weapon – whether it be hairspray, a snooker cue, a heavy torch, whatever – you may be guilty of an offence, even if you only mean to use it in self defence if attacked. If one of the scrotes sustained an eye injury or similar from the paint and it was shown that Mr.Kalinowski always carried it for self defence I fear he could get in trouble (not saying he should, just that he could). Interestingly the linked Heil article appears to have been updated and doesn't mention red paint, just "an unidentified red substance" and doesn't contain any reference to him saying he always carries it.
Could he not argue that he isn't intending to use it as a weapon, but merely as a marker to make it easy for the police to identify the criminals?
"I just carry it in case I need to make emergency touch-ups to the bike, your honour."
I was a bit dubious about the cyclist carrying his pet cat around London in his front basket.
...but if that were a large skunk, say?
OTOH there's the danger of escalating the situation - same as "I carry one for defense". If people start carrying skunks to deter bikejackings will we just see criminals on mopeds start carrying llamas? What about the innocent public who might get caught in the crossfire?
Or a porcupine. They're practically a walking piece of stinger equipment
But they have a very short-range. Plus if using your porcupine to stop motor vehicles "this will hurt me more than it hurts you".
And I'm not sure how believable an "assistance hedgehog" is if you need to explain things to the police? "He's for stress - when he senses me getting nervous he rolls up into a ball and nobody can pet him for comfort"?
If considering spines were you thinking of a manticore?
A fulmar might be a decent option.
Good point - lightweight and aero.
Exactly. I can't see any issue with this. Even the police hand out marker sprays:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60414452
Yes, it's clearly very small and the person says it was "bought off Amazon 3 years ago" so it's going to be a marker spray. These are not made, intended or capable of causing *injury*, so it cannot be an offensive weapon by definition.
They have been around for years and I have never heard of anybody being prosecuted for carrying or using one.
Can of spray paint, eh? Good idea…
I'd suggest a can of wd40 or gt85 as it's easier to explain why you have it in your possession. Not as obvious over attackers clothing, but equally effective if you get it in their eyes.
It's so fortunate that these gangs of idiots refuse to wear FF helmets and don balaclavas instead
Wouldn't it be unfortunate if lubricant found its way onto the brake pads of their mopeds?!
How about rebadging pepper spray as WD40? I sense a commercial opportunity. What could possibly go wrong?
Why would you have to explain that though? I reckon paint is great, as it makes the crims and their possessions easy to identify and is very difficult to wash off. Spraying stuff in people's eyes strikes me as something that should be avoided if possible.
In laymans terms, if you used anything as a weapon, you'd better have a bloody good reason for carrying it.
Using something as a weapon in self-defence doesn't make it an offensive weapon though, which is a weapon designed or used for attack.
Not in the eyes of the law.
The obvious example being; a gun used self defense is still an offensive weapon. Things do get somewhat fuzzier around the subject of improvised weapons, when it comes down to pre-meditation; was it an incidental item to hand at the moment of self defense, or were they carrying for the purpose of self defence? Generally the law tends to be more lenient around this subject unless the initial attacker ends up with grievous or fatal wounding.
Think of how the law would treat someone who responded to being attacked by stabbing the assailant with a screwdriver? Compare someone doing DIY out the front of the house being robbed for their power tools vs a kid hanging out on a council estate park bench, not themselves in a gang but being harassed by one?
It goes even beyond that. Obviously everyone has a reason for carrying their keys, but if you walk through a shady area with yours keys in your fist poking between your fingers, like a punch dagger, that is an offensive weapon. Clearly this every day object is being carried in a way that it is intended to be used as a weapon if required.
However if you are approaching your door and are grabbed and spin and lash out with your keys happening to be in your hand, that is entirely justified self defence/instinctive reaciton.
Surely a substantial bike lock can be argued as legitimate to carry on a bike? I feel it's something I might instinctively reach for in self defence if some scrote was coming at me with a hammer.
Or solid metal pump (remember those?)
But if you have the thought of doing so, just remember to practice (discreetly, but continually). Otherwise you will merely be angering criminals and giving them ideas - and then a weapon to use on you.
I think the old campag push on adaptors were specially designed for gouging eyes out!