NYPD: 85-Year-Old Man Attacked, Robbed Outside Bronx Home
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD says a team of robbers recently targeted an 85-year-old man in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx.
Tuesday's violent attack was captured on surveillance camera and residents are calling it a "cowardly" crime, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Thursday.
The incident happened at the intersection of Cannon Place and West 238th Street.
The footage shows least two people were in a gray four-door sedan. The driver pauses while an accomplice jumps out and grabs an 85-year-old man entering the side door of his building. The robber shows a gun and knocks the victim to the ground. There's a struggle and the determined crook ignores the victim kicking, searching him until he finds the victim's wallet. He then gets back into the vehicle, which leaves the scene.
"Why would someone do that, especially to an elderly person? It's beyond me, cowardly. It's disgusting," one local resident said.
"How much money or valuables could they have expected to find on him to rob him at gunpoint?" a woman added.
It happened near a well-kept building on a quiet street in Kingsbridge.
Neighbors were taken aback.
"There's a lady who lives down the street, she's pushing 90. None of us are spring chickens, so security is a paramount concern," a man named Ravi said.
Robbery is spiking in the 50th Precinct, with 78 so far this year, versus 64 during the same period last year. That's a 22% increase.
The NYPD said the robber got about $50 and the victim's credit cards. The 85-year-old man was not seriously injured.
The landlord of his building is taking quick action to improve security. An electrician was doing prep work Thursday to install additional exterior lighting.
The NYPD believes this was a crime of opportunity, with the robbers thinking the man's advanced age made him an easy target.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.