A man was beaten with a hammer and robbed by four strangers inside a restaurant in Flushing on the night of Saturday, Feb. 22, and the suspects remain at large.
The 40-year-old victim entered an unnamed restaurant in the vicinity of Northern Boulevard and Union Street with two 16-year-old boys for a late dinner just before 10 p.m. when four young men walked into the restaurant and ordered the three victims to get on the floor. Acting in concert, the suspects brandished a hammer and smashed the 40-year-old in the head, and removed $1,000 in cash, police said Thursday.
The assailants then punched one of the 16-year-olds in the face and pushed him to the ground before the suspect ran out of the restaurant, traveling eastbound on Northern Boulevard before police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to the crime scene. EMS rushed the 40-year-old victim to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. The 16-year-old victim who was punched in the face was treated at the scene.
A police spokesman could not provide any details on the relationship between the victims on Thursday.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the four suspects Thursday, describing one as having a light complexion and slender build. The suspect wore a black jacket, black pants, black-rimmed eyeglasses, and black shoes. The second individual is described as having a light complexion with a slam build who also wore black-rimmed eyeglasses, a black hooded sweatshirt, a gold jacket, black pants, and black shoes. The third man has a light complexion and slim build and wore a black jacket with a white fur-lined hood, dark blue jeans, and black boots. The fourth suspect is described as having a dark complexion and slim build and wore a black jacket and a black shirt.
Anyone with information regarding this robbery 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 confidential.
Through March 2, the 109th Precinct has reported 33 robberies so far in 2025, 26 fewer than the 59 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 44.1%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are on the rise in the precinct, with 73 reported so far this year, a half dozen more than the 67 reported at the same point in 2024, an increase of 10.6%, according to CompStat.
