NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Police are searching for a robbery suspect who brandished a firearm and burned an elderly victim on the Lower East Side Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect posed as a NYCHA employee while knocking at the door of a 73-year-old double amputee at the Vladeck Houses on the Lower East Side.
Once inside, he whipped out a gun, forced a home health aide into the bathroom, and demanded money.
He then burned the victim's knees with a hot knife before fleeing with $300.
The suspect was described as an approximately 30-year-old black man, about 5'9" and 150 lbs., last seen wearing a black skullcap, a North Face coat with stars, blue jeans and black sneakers.
"There are a lot of sick people around," another resident of the Vladeck Houses told 1010 WINS, "We don't really notice them, but you look around, and you look at people's eyes and there's a lot of trouble out there."
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the suspect is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
All calls are strictly confidential.
