Police are looking for a knife-wielding bandit who grabbed merchandise from an Astoria clothing store and threatened a store employee as he walked out of the location.
According to police, at 5:25 p.m. on Monday, July 31, the unidentified man walked into the New York and Company store located at 30-37 Steinway St. and began removing clothing from the shelves. He then headed for the exit without paying for the items.
When an employee tried to stop the suspect, law enforcement sources said, the thief pulled out a knife and threatened the employee with it. The perpetrator continued out of the store with the stolen clothing.
The incident was reported to the 114th Precinct; there were no injuries.
Police described the suspect as a black male between 30 and 40 years of age who was last seen wearing a white polo shirt, black jeans and white sneakers.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
