You are reading

Female Employee Fends Off Armed Robber at Astoria Cell Phone Store

NYPD

NYPD

July 18, 2016 Staff Report

A female employee at a Broadway cell phone store fought off an armed robber on Friday.

The suspect entered the Boost Mobile store, located at 25-38 Broadway, at around 7:45 pm, displayed a silver firearm, and told the 22-year-old employee not to scream and to give him money, according to police.

The employee did scream and she threw random objects at the armed suspect, who then went behind the counter and attempted to force her to open the cash register. She continued to throw objects at the suspect, who ultimately fled without removing anything from the store, according to the NYPD.

The employee was not injured in the incident.

Police describe the suspect as a male, Hispanic, wearing a long sleeved purple shirt with Metro PCS written on it, black shorts, black sneakers, a black Yankee baseball cap and dark sunglasses.

Police have released a surveillance video of the incident and are asking anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

Astoria doctor sentenced to more than two decades in prison for rape and sexual abuse: DA

An Astoria doctor was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court for raping unconscious acquaintances and sexually abusing hospital patients.

Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, of Broadway, pleaded guilty on June 30 to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. The defendant — a former gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital — recorded the abuse of his unconscious victims with his cell phone in both his Astoria apartment and at the hospital.