NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Police are searching for at least two armed men in a string of violent robberies in upper Manhattan since May.
The robberies have included everything from chain-snatchings to attempted carjackings throughout Washington Heights, police said.
The most recent robbery was on the evening of June 21. Police said a 28-year-old man was standing next to his car at W. 162nd Street and Broadway when two men got out of a gray Ford Taurus and pulled guns on him around 5:25 p.m.
The men pistol-whipped the victim multiple times with the firearms before stealing his Audemars Piguet watch, necklace and wallet, police said.
Video shows the victim grappling with the armed men on a sidewalk as one of them hits him in the head with a gun.
NYPD
The men sped off in the Taurus, with one of them firing at the victim as he chased after the vehicle, according to police.
The victim suffered a laceration to his head and was treated at an area hospital.
The men, who police believe are between 17 and 20 years old, have also been linked to a number of other robberies or attempted robberies in the neighborhood since May 13, the NYPD said.
NYPD
On June 18, two women, ages 41 and 21, were robbed by two men riding a scooter. Police said the thieves rode up and grabbed the women's necklaces in separate robberies just minutes apart on W. 183rd and W. 162nd streets. Neither of the victims were injured.
Police believe the men are also connected to three other incidents near St. Nicholas Avenue and W. 162nd Street on the night of May 13.
In one of the incidents, a 30-year-old man was at a stop sign in his Jeep when a man with a gun shot out his rear passenger window and tried to steal the vehicle. Police said the gunman forced the man out of the Jeep but fled after he was unable to get the vehicle into drive.
About three hours after the attempted carjacking, a 35-year-old man was getting into his Range Rover around 11:30 p.m. when two men exited a dark-colored SUV driven by a third man, police said.
The men pulled handguns, and one of them pistol-whipped the victim before the duo stole his neck chain, pendant and iPhone, according to police.
As the men were fleeing, one of them shot the door of a Jeep SUV and forced a 30-year-old man out of the vehicle. He then tried to drive off with the SUV but ultimately fled on foot, police said. The victim was hospitalized in stable condition.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
