US tourist tells how robber punched him in the face and stole his £3,000 chain just five hours after he arrived in Lawless London
A US TikTok star has told how a knife-wielding robber punched her in the face and stole £3,000 worth of jewelery after spending just five hours in lawless London.
Eric Ou, who has 335,000 followers on Instagram and 288,000 followers on TikTok, talked about the trouble he experienced while walking on the streets of central London with his two friends on social media.
Mr Ou, who is seen applying ice to his face during the clip, said the incident took place in Soho on Thursday night.
“I’ve been in London for five hours and my chain just got snatched and my face got messed up,” she told her followers.
‘London, is this normal? ‘Is this the London experience I’ve been told about?’
Describing the alleged attack, the CCO of AI firm Turbo AI said he was approached by a man wearing a “fake Gucci hat” and asking for directions.
‘I got off the tube, had a Nando’s and now we’re in Soho and I’m fucked.
‘Has anyone seen a man in a fake Gucci hat asking for directions to Oxford? [Street]Don’t give him directions to Oxford.
WARNING: Video contains explicit language
Eric Ou has told how a knife-wielding robber allegedly punched him in the face and stole £3,000 worth of jewelery after just five hours in London.
Mr Ou, who also visited a classic English bar during his trip, said the incident took place in Soho on Thursday night.
‘But have we stepped back? No, we did not step back. ‘I’ll get $4,000.’
In a later video, the TikToker said he pulled out a knife before punching the man in the face and grabbing his ‘chain’.
He also shared a photo of himself drinking a cup of tea with the caption: ‘They took my chains but not my booty.’
The incident does not appear to have stopped him from visiting local attractions, as Mr Ou shared photos of himself visiting a bar and trying fish and chips, a British staple.
The American appeared unimpressed with the dish, joking that it was “batty with fish.”
It comes just days after actress Genevieve Chenneour, a Team GB swimmer, called for women’s safety to be prioritized in the city after she was attacked for the second time in less than a year in the capital.
She told of her horror last week after she was hit by a man who ‘locked’ on her on the way to an audition, then elbowed her and controlled her body with ‘all his might’.
Ms Chenneour, who plays debutante Clara Livingston in the Netflix drama Bridgerton, broke down in tears after the incident and told fans no one stopped to check on her.
It comes just days after GB swimmer and actress Genevieve Chenneour (pictured) called for women’s safety to be prioritized in the city after she was attacked for the second time in less than a year in the capital.
Ms Chenneour, who plays debutante Clara Livingston in the Netflix series Bridgerton, broke down in tears after being attacked for the second time in a year in London.
This follows an attempted robbery in Kensington in February, which left the actress with a concussion.
Prolific 18-year-old thief Zacariah Boulares is serving a 22-month prison sentence for burglary, while an accomplice who arrived at the store and threatened to stab Genevieve as she fought him off remains at large.
In a video shared on social media this week, Ms Chenneour added that she had been ‘groped more times than I can count’ in the capital.
There is growing concern about crime in the capital, with phone thefts and robberies spiraling out of control.
Approximately 117,211 phones were reported stolen in London in 2024 alone; The real number is thought to be much higher.
Theft of expensive items such as luxury watches is also a concern.
A total of 508 robberies were reported to police by June 2025 in an area covering both Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue.
A further 499 robberies were recorded in the area during the same period, including parts of Regent Street, New Bond Street and Oxford Street.
