New York City has been hit by spate of recent thefts by armed moped thieves who aggressively drive up onto city sidewalks and attack unsuspecting victims.
Three of the most recent attacks happened over the weekend where thieves ripped a $12,000 Rolex watch from a man’s arm while he was walking in Chelsea and the very next day, two women walking near the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side fought off thieves on a moped who tried to snatch their jewelry.
A third attack happened in Inwood. In all three, the thieves on bikes jump the sidewalks, reach out at their unsuspecting victims and attempt to rob them.
Major crime in NYC is on the rise with a 35 percent increase since the same time last year, according to NYPD data. Robberies, grand larcenies, and auto thefts fueling the crime wave.
This weekend’s moped attacks began on Friday when a 64-year-old man was ambushed as he was walking along West 23rd Street toward 7th Avenue in Chelsea around 1 p.m.
Video shows thieves on dirt bikes and a moped jumping the curb and cornering him on the sidewalk. One of the thieves then jumps off the bike and and forcibly grabs a $12,000 Rolex watch off the man’s wrist and then shoves him to the ground.
The man appears to be doing his best to hang on to the watch, but wasn’t able to stop the thief. The victim had minor cuts to his right arm and hand, but refused to be treated at the scene.
The next day, two more brazen attacks involving thieves on mopeds were reported in Manhattan – including one near one of the city’s most popular museums.
On Friday, a 64-year-old man was walking along West 23rd Street toward 7th Avenue in Chelsea around 1 p.m. and snatched a $12,000 Rolex watch from the victim’s wrist, knocking him to the ground, before they sped off
The two masked men on mopeds ride up next to the unsuspecting victim and one tries to rip a Rolex watch from his wrist
The masked thieves grab the man’s arm as they try to rip off his pricy watch. He suffered minor injuries from the attack
The attack flung the victim to the ground as he fought to keep his $12,000 watch. But he was unable to stop the thief
The three men on bikes were wearing black face masks, dark hooded sweatshirts, and dark pants. The dirt bike they were riding was green and white, and the moped was maroon, police said
On Saturday, a pair of brazen thieves rode up on two 28-year-old women walking down a sidewalk just around the corner from the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side.
Police say the attack happened in front of 3 East 89th Street around 12:17 p.m. as the women, who were dressed in exercise gear, were nearing the popular museum.
Video shows the moped slowing down on the sidewalk as it passes the women and one of the thieves reaching out in an attempt to snatch a necklace off the woman’s neck. The woman reacts by pulling away from the thief, which caused her to stumble to the ground.
As her friend tries to pull her out of harm’s way, the passenger of the moped then hops off the bike and lunges at them, trying once more to grab the necklace from the victim who is now kicking at the thief from the sidewalk.
The two thieves are seen on video giving up as they speed off on the moped empty-handed. Police say the woman who was attacked had minor injuries but refused medical attention.
In another brazen attack the same afternoon, two men on bikes attempted to steal a necklace from an unsuspecting victim walking on the sidewalk in Inwood, an Upper Manhattan neighborhood.
The three most recent moped attacks in Manhattan happened on Friday and Saturday last week in the neighborhoods of Inwood, Chelsea, and near the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side
On Saturday, a pair of brazen thieves rode up on two 28-year-old women walking down a sidewalk just around the corner from the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side
The thieves attempted to snatch a necklace off the woman’s neck, but fights back against the thief’s reach, which causes her to stumble to the ground. Her friend is seen on video trying to pull her away from the suspects
Another view shows the thieves as they ride on the sidewalk just seconds before they approach the two women
The woman’s friend rushes to her side and pulls her from harm’s way after the thieves try to grab her necklace
Police say the thieves on a moped rode up onto the side on the corner of Nagle Avenue and Arden Street where they chased down a 29-year-old man.
Video shows one thief maneuvering the bike, while the other reaches out and grabs at him and appears to strike him in the head.
A Good Samaritan jumped in to help the man, and the thieves fled from the scene on the moped while three shots were reportedly fired. No one was injured in the incident.
‘It’s good people on the block helped each other out,’ Miseal Romano told ABC7.
‘That’s something nice, and good to be in the community where we have each other’s back, even though it’s still pretty scary.’
In another brazen attack, this one in Inwood, two men on bikes ride up onto the sidewalk and chase and unsuspecting victim
The thieves attempted to steal a necklace from the 29-year-old man who was walking on the sidewalk in Inwood. The man sees the bike coming at him on the sidewalk and starts running, but they caught up with him
A Good Samaritan jumps into help but the thieves flee from the scene on the moped and three shots were reportedly fired
Residents told ABC7 that it’s not unusual to see bikes on the sidewalk, like e-bikes that deliverymen use, so New Yorkers don’t always have their guard up.
Many of the bikes, including the ones involved in the incidents over the weekend, do not have license plates – which makes it harder for police to track them down. No arrests have been made.
Major crime in NYC is on the rise with a 35 percent increase since the same time last year, according to NYPD data. Robberies, grand larcenies, and auto thefts fueling the crime wave.
There were about 3,000 more robberies reported to NYPD in 2022 through August 21 than there were last year.
Felony assaults and rape are also slightly up from last year, but the number of murders and shooting victims has declined.
Mayor Eric Adams indicated he won’t be entertaining calls to decrease the number of cops in the city, but will discourage ‘heavy-handed’ policing from NYPD officers.
Police officers are part of the mayor’s ‘public safety apparatus,’ he said last week, adding: ‘You can’t remove police from this equation,’ which includes dealing with the issues around homelessness and improving the school system.
He added he doesn’t plan to stop talking about crime in the Big Apple, and said ‘I’m not going to be inconsistent and not talk about the violence that has happened in our cities every day.’
Overall crimes are up by a third so-far this year, compared for the same period of 2021, with felony assaults hitting 16,692 by August 21, compared to 14,045 for the same date last year.
Images of ongoing NYC violence have stunned the United States and much of the rest of the world, and are feared to be hampering efforts to attract workers and tourists back to the COVID-ravaged metropolis.
Even New York City’s high-end stores are taking a hit as they’ve become a target for looters in recent months.
Earlier this month, a gang of thieves stole $30,000 worth of clothing from upmarket sportwear brand Lululemon while a security guard stood by.
Seven thieves, believed to be aged from 30 to 50-years-old, entered the store on 14th Street and 9th Avenue with empty carts and laundry bags while the guard glanced over as they grabbed piles of clothing on August 16.
Another woman walked out with a bag filled of clothing, but the security guard didn’t intervene
The brazen robbers, targeting the posh West Village neighborhood, rushed out of the store with their finds – without being apprehended by the security guard.
Store surveillance footage showed the thieves walk in and out the store around noon – looting thousands of dollars worth of merchandise as the seemingly unbothered guard, dressed in a white shirt and black tie, stood by.
The four men and three women involved in the Lululemon robbery remain at large as the string of robberies proceed to overrun the city.
This includes a perilous manhunt for a robber who pulled off multiple burglaries at high-end shops in the same areas that amounts to $62,000 in stolen merchandise.
New York’s shopping districts – including SoHo – have been under siege by robbers and looters in recent weeks, while law enforcement have been slammed for their lax approach to the crimes.
A string of West Village and SoHo clothing robberies were coordinated by one suspect, the NYPD reports. All of the break ins took place from July 3 until July 23, often between closing times. These stores are: Loro Piana, Christian Louboutin, A.P.C., Scotch Soda, Rag & Bone, Meermin Shoes and Bonobos
CCTV showed the unidentified thief breaking into a Rag and Bone shop on 104 Christopher Street on July 14 at 8.05am. He made away with $7,900 worth of clothing.
The suspect lurked outside the store’s front entrance before he shoved the glass frame and crawled inside the store. He then filled up a trash bag full of clothes before walking out without any alarms going off. The burglary lasted for five minutes, according to NBC New York.
Police described the suspect as a black man in his mid-thirties, possibly 35-years-old, five feet seven inches tall and roughly 180 pounds.
He was also seen wearing a black bob hat and a brown jacket in the footage of the Rag and Bone store theft.
The man was also seen in additional footage stealing $3,400 worth of clothing at Meermin Shoes on 123 Mercer Street at 6.20am on July 5.
The thief repeated similar offenses at five other high-end luxury stores in the West Village and SoHo, including the Bonobos store on Crosby Street, Christian Louboutin on the intersection of Horatio and Greenwich streets, Scotch & Soda on Bleecker Street, Loro Piana on Ninth Avenue, and A.P.C. on West 4th Street.
CCTV showed an unidentified thief breaking into a Rag and Bone shop on 104 Christopher Street on July 14 at 8.05am. He made away with $7,900 worth of clothing
The suspect’s most profitable burglary was on July 17, when he stole an estimated worth of $26,500 in clothing from Christian Louboutin, the NYPD said.
All of the burglaries happened before or after store opening hours, often between the hours of 5am and 9am, except on one occasion when the thief broke into a Loro Piana shop at 1am on July 17.
Every break-in took place in a three-week span starting July 3 through July 23, as the thief would always burst into stores with no customers or staff around.
Police also revealed that the only store where the suspect didn’t steal from was the Loro Piana Boutique on Ninth Avenue.
Meanwhile, some security guards said they feel hopeless as the thieves take off with thousands in merchandise without consequences.
Every single break-in attempted by the thief took place with no customers or staff around and often before or after store opening hours (5am and 9 am)
Pictured: The Rag and Bone store on 104 Christopher St, where the thief stole $7,900 in merchandise
The Christian Louboutin store on Horatio and Greenwich streets, where the thief stole $26,500- his most profitable heist