"A San Francisco finance manager stopped in at a Mission District cafe and was tapping on his laptop as he enjoyed his coffee just before noon on a Thursday. Suddenly, he was under siege," reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
"I looked up, and I saw this guy leaning into me as if he was asking a question,'' he said. "I leaned forward, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone fiddling with the computer cord. I tried to stand up, and as I stepped back, he stabbed me in the chest.''
The attack marked a violent turn in a wave of crime that has hit the city -- the "hot spots" frequented by wireless laptop users are becoming hot spots for laptop robberies.
The number of laptop thefts in San Francisco is relatively small, but growing -- 18 in 2004, 48 last year, and on track for more than 70 this year. However, the story says: "Palo Alto hasn't had any, and Berkeley, another hot area for Internet cafes, had only one such crime about a year ago, investigators said. Oakland police investigators had not heard of any such crimes, either."
