Exclusive: Surveillance video shows armed robbers taking over $80K worth of merchandise from Queens clothing store
NEW YORK -- A group of armed robbers got away with tens of thousands of dollars worth of clothing from a high-end store in Queens.
It's the latest example of an alarming increase of robberies across New York City.
Security video obtained exclusively by CBS2 shows the robbers barge into the 1OffDsgn clothing store in Queens.
One of them cocks a gun and another directs sales rep Danny Tolentino to the back of the store.
"I just didn't wanna move. I didn't wanna make no sudden moves, make no mistakes, you know what I mean? They mean business," Tolentino said.
For the next couple minutes, the robbers filled garbage bags with high-end jeans, sweatshirts, jackets and more. They left one rack almost completely empty.
Owner Imran Lonie says they stole more than 40 pairs of jeans in the Sunday evening heist.
"We're looking at $80,000 to $120,000 worth of stuff," he said.
"How does this affect you as a business owner, to have that kind of loss here?" CBS2's Tim McNicholas asked.
"I mean, yeah, you know, it... It sucks. I don't think anybody wants to see a loss like this," Lonie said.
Police have not said whether the four thieves are connected to any other crimes, but the NYPD is investigating a string of seven other armed robberies in Queens and Brooklyn over the last week and a half.
READ MORE: NYPD: Robbery pattern targets 7 businesses in Brooklyn and Queens
Across New York City, robberies were up about 26% last year.
This year, they're happening at about the same pace with more than 2,100 so far.
"I mean, for them, it's just t-shirts and hoodies, but you know, this stuff right here feeds our families," Lonie said.
Now, Lonie says he'd like to see more patrol cars near his Ridgewood business, which he just opened in July. He doesn't want his employees or anyone else to deal with this ever again.