Police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows and Transit District 20 are looking for two young men who beat, slashed, and robbed a 42-year-old man on Hillside Avenue in broad daylight last week.
The victim’s ordeal began when he was sleeping on a bench inside the Sutphin Boulevard F train station just after 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, when he was awakened by the two suspects who punched him in the head and then forcibly removed his cell phone valued at approximately $500, police said Monday. The man tried to escape his attackers, but they followed him out of the station and again confronted him on the street at the northwest corner of 144th Street and Hillside Avenue.
One of the perpetrators allegedly pulled out a knife and slashed him across the left side of his face twice before the suspects ran off in an unknown direction.
EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspects on Friday and described one as having a medium build with a medium complexion. He wore a black T-shirt, black shorts and white sneakers, and he carried a black cane. His accomplice is described as having a medium complexion and a slim build who wore a gray and white striped polo shirt, dark pants, and white and black sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation 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 Oct. 6, the 107th Precinct has reported 223 felony assaults so far in 2024, 47 more than the 176 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 26.7%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Robberies are declining in the precinct, with 87 reported so far this year, 21 fewer than the 108 reported at the same point in 2023, a decline of 19.4%, according to CompStat. Transit crimes are also down in the precinct, with 28 reported so far in 2024, a half-dozen fewer than the 34 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 17.6%, according to CompStat.
