Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are looking for two men who blasted a caustic liquid in the face of a 36-year-old woman and then robbed her of hundreds of dollars in cash and personal property in Auburndale last month.
The victim was standing in front of a home at 40-45 172nd St. across from the Star Toyota Service Center when two strangers approached and pepper-sprayed her face before snatching her purse, which contained a cell phone and $600 in cash, police said. They fled the location in an orange sedan in an unknown direction and remain at large a month later.
EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to Flushing Hospital Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspects and described them as having light complexions, dark hair, and thin mustaches. One wore a black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants with a white stripe down each leg, and white sneakers. His accomplice wore a black hooded jacket.
A reward of up to $3,500 for information that leads to their arrest.
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 May 4, the 109th Precinct has reported 76 robberies so far in 2025, 51 fewer than the 127 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 40.2%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
