Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and Transit District 20 are looking for an armed robbery suspect who targeted a teenager at the Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens subway station on the night of Wednesday, Oct. 29.
The 17-year-old boy’s harrowing ordeal began at around 7:30 p.m. when the victim approached a stranger waiting on the northbound E train platform and asked him for directions. The suspect demanded money, and when the teenager refused, the stranger pulled out a handgun from his waistband and instructed the victim to go to the bank and withdraw cash, police said Tuesday.
The gunman followed the victim to the Chase Bank located at 118-30 Queens Blvd., near the subway station, and, after the teenager withdrew funds, the suspect took approximately $140 in cash and fled northbound on Queens Boulevard toward Ascan Avenue in Forest Hills. The victim was not injured during the encounter.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Tuesday and described him as having a dark complexion with a black beard and mustache. He wore a green and black hooded jacket over a green hoodie, black pants, black sneakers and a black backpack.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
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 kept confidential.
Through Oct. 26, the 112th Precinct has reported 59 robberies so far in 2025, 15 fewer than the 74 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 20.3%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
