Manuel Pellegrini and wife robbed by armed muggers as West Ham manager thanks Chilean police

Recently-appointed manager was travelling to a restaurant with wife Carola Pucci when they were held up at gunpoint back in their homeland of Chile

Jack de Menezes
Monday 04 June 2018 09:12 BST
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Manuel Pellegrini and his wife Carola Pucci were mugged at gunpoint
Manuel Pellegrini and his wife Carola Pucci were mugged at gunpoint

Manuel Pellegrini has thanked Chilean police after the West Ham United manager and his wife were mugged by armed robbers back in his homeland.

The couple were held up by gunmen on Saturday night in a suburb of Santiago called Conchali while they made their way to a restaurant with friends, with Carola Pucci, Pellegrini’s wife, having her handbag stolen.

Police confronted the gunmen, who returned fire before speeding off in a stolen Porsche Cayenne that was later found abandoned by authorities. They also found a stolen handbag that belonged to a woman, though would not confirm if it was the one belonging to Ms Pucci or her friend who was with them at the time of the robbery.

Police said that no one was injured in the incident, and 64-year-old Pellegrini posted a message on Twitter to thank them for their help at the weekend.

“Thank you to @Carabdechile your quick and courageous reaction,” Pellegrini wrote. “I appreciate the support of the people. I hope you are given more powers to police and solve the issue of crime as soon as possible.”

The drama did not stop with the shootout, as the fleeing robbers laid down road spikes to prevent police from following them as they made their getaway, local media reported.

The Porsche had been stolen two weeks before the incident, and police said that fake number plates were used to avoid detection.

Local police chief Gonzalo Munoz said: “They fired two shots at officers and threw road spikes down to stop them following as they sped off, which resulted in a police car being damaged.”

The owner of the Porsche was also quoted by The Mirror as saying: “I can’t understand how these sorts of things are happening and you can’t even go out for dinner without being robbed like this. It’s very serious.”

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