Police arrest man mugging a woman with a plastic gun

Police arrested a man Tuesday night after he robbed a woman using a plastic toy gun in Pavas, a western district of the Costa Rican capital.

The 30-year-old man surnamed Mora approached the woman on a vacant street and pulled out a gun. The victim handed over her purse with her cellphone and money, but Mora was quickly apprehended by police who spotted him fleeing the scene. After arresting Mora, police realized the weapon was a toy gun painted black.

Mora, who has been arrested for robberies in the past, is in preventive detention awaiting trial.

According to the Judicial Investigation Police, 30 percent of armed robberies in Costa Rica are committed with toy or replica guns.