By Carol Tannenhauser
On Monday, December 19, at 11:05 a.m., a 32-year-old man, aboard a northbound #2 train at the West 72nd Street and Broadway station, was punched in the face and robbed of his Apple IPhone 13, allegedly by three teenagers, one of whom was apprehended.
Police are seeking the other two teens, who “fled on foot to parts unknown,” they reported. The victim suffered facial “bruising and swelling,” but refused medical attention at the scene. The value of the cellphone was approximately $500.
The individuals (pictured above) are described by police as “two males, dark complexion, approximately 15 to 18 years of age. Male #1: was last seen wearing a red jacket, black jeans. white sneakers and carrying a red book bag. Male#2: was last seen wearing a black jacket, light gray ripped jeans, white sneakers and carrying a multi-colored book bag.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident 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 CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
I continue to be impressed by the police’s success in apprehending these criminals. If we are stuck with crimes, it’s good to know we have methods for solving them. We are catching up with CCTV in the U.S. Britain was ahead of us for a long time because it was fighting Irish terrorism.
It would be good if the District Attorney was as good in prosecuting as the police are in arresting.
What time did this occur?
11:05 am; added. Thank you.
They wanted the phone – they took it. They beat the victim up. That’s the culture of violence and theft, generation after generation, it is not one off. It became a norm. We encourage it.
Jeesh—I didn’t need to know the time it happened:( Can’t even feel safe in the mid-morning? That’s a shameful indictment of our city. To the police: Go team! To our community: Watch out for each other,please!
If you are aware of your surroundings, and not completely enveloped by your phone, it’s less likely you will be targeted.
It should not happen but it does. The above will help ensure it doesn’t happen to you. That’s all.
When society makes heroes out of criminals, and villans out of heros, rampant crime is the result.
And how is that comment is relevant to this incident?
What blows my mind is that unlike stealing cash or a credit card the victim can prevent the thief from having access to the phone by alerting Apple!
‘Alerting Apple’ ..? My son lost his phone recently and the contact that was stored in the ‘cloud’ was all still available to him when he replaced it.
They will hack it and also can break it up and sell the parts-with or without Apple
i have lived a cpl of blocks away for a long time. I never used to pay attention to the high school toughs because I am a big guy and they totally ignored me. But, I was waking with a cane after an injury and assaulted at that same station around 3 PM on a weekday. Kids were as tall as me ( 6″1) . Been few consequences for pre-18 violent offenders in this city for a long time so just expect more of the same. Use some common sense and don’t show valuables – those subways posters about not showing anything worth stealing are there for a reason. To a 17 year old punk, someone 50 might as well be 100, and if you are a small person of any age woman you might as well have a have a sign that says “rob me”. just the way it is.
Really? I’ve lived on the UWS for over 40 years and only once on a bus had my wallet stolen… by two girls .. one distracted me while the other one pulled it out of my purse. Touch wood, never attacked. .. In the 70’s and 80’s people would blend in and never wear expensive jewelry or make eye contact on the subway!
It’s what is happening now that wasn’t happening as much 5 years ago. We were able to wear jewelry and carry iphones 5 years ago without feeling like someone was about to grab you. I’ve lived here over 20 years and the last 5 years the city has gone to Hell and why this state has lost the most residents – New York State saw the greatest population decline of any state in the last year according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
Hochul is starting to get scared and should. She recently said “we must reverse the trend of people leaving our state.” Why should we pay the highest taxes while our laws do not protect us. The police are doing their job; the elected officials care nothing about our safety – they just want more tax money.
When they are caught they should get at least one year in jail for each $1 they stole.
an extremist comment.
Will the perpetrators receive any meaningful punishment so as to discourage future would-be robbers/assaulters/bandits or will the focus on equity overcome all other social priorities?
Max,
they will just get probation which will mean nothing and they will learn nothing.
2023 ..Do these ongoing frequent vicious and unwarranted attacks leave citizens no choice but to carry concealed ‘objects’ to protect themselves? ..Perhaps something in a spray can? Do desperate times require desperate measures to feel confident and safe?… in 2023
All the bad guys seem to have guns and when they are arrested often there are no consequences other than a slap on the wrist. This is sad!
I would like to re-emphasize one preventative strategy point by Sam NY: Keep your obvious valuables, eg any phone, in your bag , and stay alert to your environment. I am constantly seeing people on their phones everywhere, which places responsibility for THEIR safety on those of us who ARE paying attention, walking, crossing, riding, etc. Thanks.
So much complaining from all the posters. You had your chance to vote for Zeldin, you chose not to. Live with the consequences. Hochul and Bragg forever
And what exactly would Zeldin have done?
He could use the resources of the State Police to fight NYC crime. There have been plenty of situations in which the State took a role in City matters.
The State Police are NO match for the NYPD. They are not relevant to the discussion. What he would have done would be to fire Bragg and replace him with a District Attorney who believes in prosecuting criminals. The problem is the SLOW pace of the criminal justice system. If people didn’t languish in Riker’s for a long time, bail would become irrelevant. Of course, if people didn’t commit crime, bail would really be irrelevant. Without severe punishment, perps learn nothing and continue to commit the same crimes over and over again.
get rid of the no bail no jail law