A 73-year-old man was beaten and robbed by four young muggers near the Jackson Heights Post Office early Tuesday morning.
The victim was walking at 37th Avenue and 79th Street just after 3 a.m., when he was approached by a stranger who demanded money, police from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights reported.
When the senior was slow to comply, his assailant pulled out a knife as three other young men came up behind him and threw him to the ground. The four attackers began to punch and kick the victim repeatedly to his body and head before forcibly removing his wallet containing $80 in cash and identification cards.
The perpetrators ran off on foot southbound on 79th Street toward Roosevelt Avenue and they remain at large. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to Elmhurst Hospital with a severe laceration to the head and sustained pain and bruising throughout the body.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the four suspects, but they all wore face masks. One wore a white hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and dark sneakers. The second suspect wore a dark hoodie with black pants and dark shoes. The third suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and black sneakers while the fourth wore a black hooded jacket, black pants and dark shoes.
Anyone with information in regard to 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 Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through May 5, the 115th Precinct has reported 125 robberies so far in 2024, 38 more than the 87 that were reported at the same point last year, an increase of 43.7%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Assaults are also on the rise in the 115th Precinct with 184 reported so far this year, 24 more than the 160 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 15%, according to CompStat.
