A man was beaten and robbed at knifepoint in broad daylight after an argument escalated to violence on board the Rockaway Park shuttle train last week, according to authorities.
Police from the 100th Precinct and Transit District 20 reported that around 12:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6, the 29-year-old victim was heading southbound from Broad Channel toward the Beach 90th Street A train station when a stranger approached. A verbal dispute ensued and the suspect pulled out a knife and kicked the victim in the face.
As the shuttle arrived at Beach 90th Street, the confrontation spilled out onto the platform where the assailant punched the victim and forcibly removed his backpack containing personal items including an iPhone and a book, according to the NYPD. The suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction while the victim suffered minor injuries but he remained conscious and alert.
Officers took the victim by car on a canvas of the neighborhood, but they could not locate the suspect, according to an NYPD spokesman.
The officers transported the victim to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway for treatment to his injuries.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Nov. 13 and described him as having a medium complexion. He is approximately 30 years old and 5 feet 9 inches tall with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a purple baseball cap, a purple hooded jacket, black pants and pink sneakers.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The 100th Precinct has reported 34 robberies so far in 2023, 13 fewer than the 47 reported at the same point last year, a decrease of 27.7%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Assaults in the 100th Precinct are on the rise with 111 reported so far this year, 18 more than the 93 reported at the same point in 2022, an increase of 19,4%, according to CompStat.
