Dec. 17, 2024 By Bill Parry
Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria and Transit District 20 are looking for an unhinged robber who allegedly attacked a woman in a Long Island City subway station before stealing her property on the night of Thursday, Dec. 5.
The perpetrator was rummaging through trash cans for bottles at the 36th Street subway station on the Queens Boulevard line when he targeted the 60-year-old victim as she stood alone.
The perpetrator approached her from behind and kicked her in the back and legs before pushing her to the ground and forcibly removing her bag, which contained her wallet with $130 in cash inside, an NYPD spokeswoman said on Monday.
The man fled the station onto Northern Boulevard near the Sunnyside Yards.
EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect and described him as having a light complexion and a medium build. He has short black hair, a beard, and a mustache. He was last seen wearing a blue knit winter cap, a red and yellow soccer team scarf, a burgundy coat, gray shorts, and black sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding this robbery investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Dec. 15, the 114th Precinct has reported 292 robberies so far in 2024, 27 more than the 265 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 10.2%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are also rising in the precinct, with 559 reported so far this year, 74 more than the 485 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 15.3%, according to CompStat.