Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are still looking for a suspect who punched out a senior in Queensboro Hill in broad daylight before robbing him on Monday, Dec. 8.
The 87-year-old victim was entering a residential building near the intersection of Holly Avenue and Bowne Street at 3:20 p.m. when he was approached by a stranger. The man assaulted him by punching him in the face with a closed fist and then threw him to the ground, police said. The attacker then forcibly removed the elderly man’s cellphone before running off northbound on Bowne Street toward Cherry Avenue.
The stolen Apple iPhone is valued at approximately $1,200, a police spokesman said Thursday. The victim sustained lacerations to his face and tongue and was transported by EMS to Flushing Hospital Medical Center on Parson Boulevard, where he was listed in stable condition.
The NYPD released a surveillance image of the suspect and asked for the public’s help in identifying him. They described the attacker as 40 to 50 years old with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
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 strictly confidential.
Through Jan. 25, the 109th Precinct has reported seven robberies so far in 2026, two fewer than the nine reported at the same point last year, a decline of 22.2%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are also down in the precinct, with 21 reported so far this year, nine fewer than the 30 reported at the same point in 2025, a decrease of 30%, according to CompStat.
