NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A brazen thief on a moped has been snatching chains off the necks of girls in Queens in recent weeks, police said Tuesday as they released surveillance footage of the suspect.
At least three girls and one woman have been robbed by the man in Sunnyside or Sunnyside Gardens since late December, according to the NYPD, with the youngest victim only 11 years old.
While none of the victims were seriously injured, the robberies were brazen, with all of the young victims targeted in broad daylight, some near schools.
The most recent robbery was last Thursday, when a 23-year-old woman was attacked in Sunnyside Gardens. She was walking on 52nd Street, near Barnett Avenue, at 9:15 a.m. when the thief rode by on a moped and tried to snatch a chain from her neck. He was unsuccessful and fled southbound on 52nd Street, police said. The victim declined further medical attention at the scene.
Two of the robberies were in Sunnyside Gardens, while two more were in Sunnyside, south of Queens Boulevard.NYPD
Just a day before that robbery—and only a few blocks away—an 11-year-old girl was walking at 50th Street and 39th Avenue at 2:25 p.m. Wednesday, when the man rode up and ripped the chains from her neck, police said. He fled on 39th Avenue towards 49th Street.
And on Tuesday, a 16-year-old girl was waking on 42nd Street, just north of 47th Avenue, in Sunnyside around 8:30 a.m. when the man rode up and snatched a chain from her neck before fleeing northbound on 42nd Street.
The first reported robbery was Dec. 22, when a 15-year-old girl was robbed around 8:35 a.m. near 37th Street and 47th Avenue in Sunnyside—right outside Queens Technical High School. As in the other robberies, a man rode up on a moped and stole a chain off her neck.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
