A lone gunman targeted two Dollar Tree stores in less than 24 hours in western Queens last month, according to the NYPD.
Police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood and the 108th Precinct in Long Island City are searching for the man who walked into the Dollar Tree located at 78-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village just before 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, and allegedly pulled out a black and silver handgun while demanding cash inside the manager’s office, police said. The 52-year-old employee complied and the gunman fled on foot with approximately $3,300 in cash to parts unknown, according to the NYPD. There were no injuries as a result of the incident.
The following day, the suspect entered a Dollar Tree store located at 39-09 Queens Blvd. and approached a cashier demanding cash from the safe while allegedly showing the silver and black handgun, police said. The cashier complied and the suspect fled on foot with $1,138 in cash in an unknown direction. There were no injuries at the location.
The NYPD released surveillance video of the suspect who is described as a man with a medium complexion, between 20 and 30 years of age, 160 to 180 pounds with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, an orange or red hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans, black sneakers, black face mask and he was carrying a gray book bag.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the suspects is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
